Tim Keller, in his book Prayer: Experiencing Intimacy and Awe with God, describes Martin Luther's method of meditating upon a passage by discerning the instruction of the text (what does the text demand of me?) and then turning it into thanksgiving (how does this truth lead me to praise or thank God?), confession (how does this truth lead me to confess and repent?) and petition (how does this truth prompt me to appeal to God?). Providing your group a simple grid to move from the study of God's Word to praying God's Word will broaden the content of your prayers.
Scripture is the best judge of our prayers. Do we generally communicate with God in various types of prayer (adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication) or do we typically just list off our requests? Do we begin by praising God for his character and asking for his name to be hallowed as the Lord's Prayer instructs? Furthermore, Scripture helps us discern why some of our prayers are actually unbiblical. Praying for a new Lexus to show up on your doorstep probably doesn't pass muster for being "daily bread." Keller writes, "One way petitionary prayer can actually do us harm is if we see it as a means to say to God, 'My will be done.' We are prone to indulge our appetites, telling God in no uncertain terms how he should run the universe. Such prayer neither pleases God nor helps us grow in grace." Does your small group just repeat and rephrase the request—"I pray for healing for Nancy's cancer"—or do you apply the gospel of Christ to the situation? Pray for healing from cancer, but also pray for joy and trust in Christ, confidence in her eternal destiny, patience with nurses and doctors, opportunity to encourage and witness to others, and ultimately that God would be glorified through this trial.
Scripture is the best judge of our prayers. Do we generally communicate with God in various types of prayer (adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication) or do we typically just list off our requests? Do we begin by praising God for his character and asking for his name to be hallowed as the Lord's Prayer instructs? Furthermore, Scripture helps us discern why some of our prayers are actually unbiblical. Praying for a new Lexus to show up on your doorstep probably doesn't pass muster for being "daily bread." Keller writes, "One way petitionary prayer can actually do us harm is if we see it as a means to say to God, 'My will be done.' We are prone to indulge our appetites, telling God in no uncertain terms how he should run the universe. Such prayer neither pleases God nor helps us grow in grace." Does your small group just repeat and rephrase the request—"I pray for healing for Nancy's cancer"—or do you apply the gospel of Christ to the situation? Pray for healing from cancer, but also pray for joy and trust in Christ, confidence in her eternal destiny, patience with nurses and doctors, opportunity to encourage and witness to others, and ultimately that God would be glorified through this trial.
This email response may be short because it is sent from my phone and my finger is stubby and slow and I may spel things rong.
