Jesus Believed that God is Listening

Small Group Questions from Jan. 14th

  1. Prayer can be challenging…it’s something we’re all familiar with, but few of us would claim to understand. How would you describe prayer…and why?
  2. Is there a time when you are confident that God answered a prayer? Big or small, it doesn’t need to be dramatic, per se, but you know that you know.
  3. Take a look at the just the first verse of a few of these prayers in Psalms. What do you notice? What stands out to you? – – – – Psalm 4, Psalm 13, Psalm 28, Psalm 51, Psalm 86
  4. There are places in the Bible that tell of Jesus giving lots of time to prayer. For example, Luke 6.12. “It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.” Why do you think Jesus prayed so much and for so long? And what does that mean for us?
  5. Read Luke 11.5-13.  What do you notice? What strikes you as interesting or confusing? What do you think Jesus is trying to teach us about prayer? About God, the Father?
  6. And read Luke 18.1-8 together. This is another parable Jesus tells about prayer. Can you see yourself in this story? Do you think we really can pray the way this women pleaded with the judge? Why or why not? And what does this tell us about God?
  7. “The God of the universe is listening and waiting for us to ask.”  What are you thoughts, your response, concerning this statement? How does it change the way you prayer?