Who IS this God we pray to? How big is he? What happens when we take in all that God is, and pray accordingly? When we align ourselves with what the Lord’s Prayer is really saying about who God is, it changes everything in our world. We start and end in that place of worship before a holy God who has taken care of everything.

QUESTIONS

• Describe a time you spent meditating on the greatness of who God is? What was the effect of spending time dwelling on God’s goodness, grandeur, mercy, love or power?
• What are 2-3 things you learned from our time focusing on the Lord’s Prayer? How are you incorporating these into your prayer life?
• In what ways do you appreciate the gift of prayer Jesus has given us?
• How has God answered your prayers? What has this done for your faith in him?

Why is life so full of trying times? Why so many temptations? How does God want us to face these trials, and what is the devil’s design in all this? Does he have as much power as we credit him? Jesus teaches us to pray that we will hold up under trials and that God would keep us safe from the evil one. He wants us to hold onto some important truths so we work through life’s battles and emerge stronger and better.



QUESTIONS

• Does it often feel to you that life is a battle and you are under constant attack? How do you typically respond to trials and temptations—fight or flight (or freeze up)?
• How do you see the difference between temptations and trying circumstances? Which is this prayer petition getting at?
• Can you remember a time God answered a prayer to help you get through a trying time? How did he work it out for you?
• How much credit have you given the devil for your life’s circumstances? Do you agree he has no power but what we give him? Explain how you see it.
• What from today’s message gives you hope you can overcome temptations in your life successfully? Do you believe this? How would it make a difference?

How can you forgive the person who lied to you—or lied about you? The person who took advantage of you leaving you humiliated? Jesus says as we pray to be forgiven, we will only find true freedom—and forgiveness from God ourselves—as we forgive those who have hurt us. This petition in the Lord’s Prayer has powerful effects as we put into practice. Both for our offender, and for ourselves.

QUESTIONS

• Who do you find it difficult to forgive? What are you afraid of should you choose to forgive this person? Why is it near impossible for you to forgive him/her?
• How is God able to forgive people who have done bad things? Why is he willing to do so? Do you think it is easy for him to let people off the hook for what they’ve done?
• If you were God, would you forgive the person who did something bad? The person who hurt you? What if the person God is willing to forgive is you? Would that make a difference in your willingness to forgive the one who hurt you?
• Describe a time when you forgave somebody? What was the result for you? For them?
Is there someone in your life you need to forgive? How will you go about doing so?

Do you have everything you need, or do you worry about having enough? Jesus teaches us to petition our Father in heaven for our basic needs—bread, food, sustenance—so he can provide everything we need. If he does this with basic necessities, how much more does he want us to pray for things that really last?

QUESTIONS
• When did God provide something you really needed in answer to your prayers?
• Has he been faithful to provide the things you need, or have you gone without when you asked?
• What have you been praying for with the same degree of desperation?
• Have you ever been the answer to somebody else’s prayers for food or basic necessities? • How might you become the answer by not only praying—but working—for the answers to your prayers?
• If God provides our meals every day, what do you believe he wants you to pray for that brings eternal impact?

How many times have we stopped to think about what it actually means to extend an invitation to God for His will to be done in our lives? The covenant of Jesus is our model example of God’s perfect will from beginning to end. How can we be more like the angels who dedicate their entire world to worshipping and proclaiming the mighty name of our King? Let’s take a deeper look into our tendencies to suggestion box praying vs completely submitting to God’s will for us.

When the Kingdom of God broke into your world, what was it like? What actually is the Kingdom of God, and why did Jesus make it a central part of his message? In these divisive and emotionally charged polarizations, what does it look like to pray for and work toward the Kingdom of God coming into our midst

QUESTIONS FOR LIFE GROUPS
• What comes to mind when you hear the phrase The Kingdom of God?
• How would you define or describe the Kingdom as Jesus presented it to us?
• What’s the difference for you in being an American and being a Christ-follower? How does your Christian faith inform your American citizenship?
• When you pray the Lord’s Prayer, and you come to this petition—May your kingdom come—what are you praying for? From today’s message, how might that come into focus?
• How can the Church work toward the coming of God’s Kingdom?

Matthew 6:9
• First of 6 Petitions
• The Name of God is God Himself as revealed to us
• Prayer for God to be made known to all (From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets,
the name of the Lord is to be praised)

What does God look like to you? There are many conceptions of who God is among the world’s people. But Jesus revealed a God who is personal and with a heart to include us all in his family. What if you prayed to that God, Our Father?

QUESTIONS

• What is the predominant picture you hold in your mind of God? The Force? Providence? Santa Claus in the sky? An unhappy cop or judge

• Describe your dad. How does that color your image of God as Father?

• Why do you believe Jesus started with this image of the One we pray to in the Lord’s Prayer? How important is it for us to come to God as to our Father?

• How will this affect your prayers?

What if Jesus himself instructed you personally how to pray, how to connect with the Father effectively, how to tap into all God has to offer? Actually he has, and it’s surprisingly not complicated. John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, sheds light on Jesus’ instructions on praying The Lord’s Prayer. Before learning the prayer itself, Jesus helps us approach God with the right heart. Join Pastor Rick as together we learn to pray as Jesus taught us.


DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

• How’s your prayer life? For most of us, we wince when we think about how anemic our prayers are, let alone our prayer life. How interested is Jesus in developing our prayer lives by giving us The Lord’s Prayer?

• Have you believed God hears prayers that are long and articulate more than short and elemental ones? Knowing this is not true, how might this change the way you pray?

• Do you have a private place where you meet the Lord in prayer, free from distractions? Where could you make such a place to meet regularly with God in prayer?

• When would be the best time to establish a regular prayer encounter each day? What are the obstacles you need to be aware of if you are to overcome them and make prayer a priority practice in your life?

• What is one area or thing you would like to see breakthrough in your life or the life of another person? Will you commit to not giving up in prayer until He blesses you with his answer?