Formed by Jesus Podcast

In Week 3 of our prayer practice series, we’re helping families focus on the sacred act of asking God for help—both in the big and the small. This week centers on Matthew 6:11–12 and the story of Hannah, a woman who poured out her heart to God in desperation. Her story not only models bold, honest prayer but also leads us to the story of Samuel—a prophet who teaches us how to listen and respond to God's voice.

Julie walks us through how to bring these lessons to life in everyday parenting moments. Whether your child is afraid of the dark or dealing with something deeper, this week's practice gives you simple, powerful tools to make prayer a natural rhythm in your home.

📖 Verse Focus: Give us today our daily bread… and forgive us our debts.

📚 Story Focus: Hannah’s prayer for a child (1 Samuel 1)

💬 Drop a comment below with your family’s takeaway from this week!

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Download the Family Guide at https://formedbyjesus.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Formed-By-Prayer-Family-Guide-2025.pdf

In the middle of teaching on prayer, Jesus tells us to ask, “Give us today our daily bread,” “forgive our sins,” and “deliver us from the evil one” (Matthew 6:11–13). These requests span a spectrum: from the mundane, to the messy, to the monumental.

Daily bread reflects ordinary needs we often overlook—food for the day, a safe commute, help with our to-do list. “Forgive our sins” gets messy, confronting our failures and the challenge of forgiving others. “Deliver us” points to overwhelming needs—healing from deep wounds, restored relationships, freedom from bondage. Yet Jesus makes no distinction. Bread, forgiveness, deliverance—all are gifts from a generous Father.

If God truly is our Father, He wants us to ask—for small things and big things. Because asking reveals humility. It takes honesty and vulnerability to admit we need help, that we rely on His power. Prayer expresses this dependence. When we bring God the mundane, the messy, and the monumental, He responds. Not always how or when we expect. But Jesus reminds us: “Who among you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him” (Matthew 7:9–11).

Join our church as we pursue the way of Jesus through 9 practices. To learn more, go to: https://formedbyjesus.com/prayer

In Week 2 of our Formed by Jesus Family Prayer Guide, we’re helping your kids learn what it means to listen to God—even when it’s not an audible voice. ✨

Trey and Kids Director Juli Minahan walk through this week's practice, which focuses on listening prayer and the power of reflection. This week’s theme is drawn from Matthew 6:10 ("Your kingdom come, your will be done...") and modeled through the story of Elijah in 1 Kings 19. In this episode, you’ll discover:

How to teach kids that listening to God shapes our hearts

A simple family rhythm inspired by the Prayer of Examen

Daily questions to help kids reflect and notice God’s presence

A powerful journaling rhythm for older children

Bonus ideas like “writing scripture on the window” and the value of quiet moments

Whether you’re raising toddlers or teens, this guide helps your family learn to slow down, reflect, and walk with God—together.

📘 Download the guide or grab a printed copy at formedbyjesus.com/prayer

If the goal of prayer is to delight in God’s presence and develop deeper communion with Him, few of us want to settle for a one-sided relationship. At some point in our prayer journey, we’ll want to actually hear from Him. This is what Scripture calls discernment. And while prayer is about delighting in our personal relationship with God by sharing our hearts with Him, it’s also about learning His heart for us and for those around us.

When we pray to discern God’s heart, we’re asking to know God’s will. But we’re also asking that God would form and shape us into the kinds of people who are actually capable of accomplishing it. This means discerning God’s heart is less about finding the right path when faced with a decision and more about tuning our hearts and desires to God’s heart and desires. This is partly what Jesus means when He tells His disciples to pray, “Your Kingdom come Your will be done…” (Matt. 6:10). Discerning God’s heart is about surrendering our will to God’s. We want His will, not ours, to be done in our lives, in the lives of those around us, and in our world. Praying this way is about alignment. We want to bend our desires to God’s desires. And not just for ourselves.

We want to develop the heart God has for those around us as well. We want to hear from God, we want to respond to His voice, and we want to become people who carry out His will.

In this episode, Pastor Trey and Pastor Caleb recap the first teaching of our prayer practice.

Welcome to Week 1 of our Formed by Jesus Family Prayer Guide series! 🎉 This episode is for parents who want to teach their kids how to praise and thank God in simple, life-giving ways.

Pastor Trey sits down again with Kids Director Juli Minahan to break down the first week’s practice: helping your children understand prayer as gratitude. In this episode, you’ll learn:

- How to talk to your kids about what prayer really is

- How to introduce the Lord’s Prayer in a way kids can remember

- Why Psalm 145 (David’s prayer) is a beautiful example of praise

- A simple daily rhythm that includes family prayers and journaling

- A bonus activity called The Thankful Walk that will help your kids see God’s goodness in everyday life

Whether your kids are toddlers or teens, this practice is designed to be doable, flexible, and transformative. And remember—progress, not perfection. If all you do is talk about one thing you're grateful for today, that’s a win.

📘 Download the guide or grab your printed copy at formedbyjesus.com/prayer

It’s pretty significant that the one time we’re told the disciples ask Jesus to teach them something, they say, “Teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1). After everything they saw Jesus doing—preaching, performing miracles, healing, casting out demons—what caught their attention was the devotion and commitment Jesus seemed to have when it came to prayer.

When Jesus answered his disciples’ request, the first thing He told them to do was address God as a Father. “Our Father in heaven…” as the prayer goes. Many of us know it by heart, but this was a radical move on Jesus’ part. In a culture full of both reverence and uncertainty about the divine, Jesus was demonstrating to His disciples a very simple, yet radical truth: God is knowable. He’s not simply “up there” in the clouds, nor is He passively waiting for us to approach Him with the right words, mantra, or sacrifice. God is near, and we can talk to Him the same way a child would talk to their father.

The starting point of prayer is delight. We can’t develop the kind of prayer life Jesus had until we get our heads and hearts around the truth that God wants to be near us in prayer more than we want to be near Him. To truly delight in God requires a proper theology, a patient consistency, and a practicing community.

Season 8 of the Formed by Jesus Podcast is here, and we’re diving deep into the practice of prayer—but this time, we’re not just talking to adults. We’re inviting your whole family into the journey.

In this episode, Pastor Trey sits down with Passion Creek’s Kids Director, Juli Minahan, to unveil our brand new Family Prayer Guide—a weekly and daily resource designed to make prayer approachable, meaningful, and consistent in your home. We talk about:

- Why we created a printed guide just for families

- How to help your kids memorize the Lord’s Prayer

- Age-appropriate ways to teach children to pray

- Encouraging rhythms (without overwhelming your schedule)

Whether you have toddlers, teens, or somewhere in between, this guide helps you make prayer a sacred rhythm, not just a spiritual theory.

👉 Grab your digital or printed copy at formedbyjesus.com/prayer

In this powerful return episode, Jeremy Craig opens up about his life transformation—spiritually and physically—through fasting, focus, and faith. From a medically-required liquid fast to a Spirit-led journey of health and discipline, Jeremy shares how surrendering food led to gaining clarity, control, and deeper communion with God. Trey and Jeremy talk about the power of vision, the lies of modern food culture, and the kind of internal shift that happens when you finally realize: this isn’t a moment—it’s a new way to live.

This is not just about health. It’s about formation.