Call Upon the Name of the Lord

How can we use the Bible to shape our prayers? Join us this Sunday at CrossWinds Church in Spencer as we look at the Bible as the foundation of our prayers.

Sermon Discussion Questions

1. Share a time when you had a prayer answered. Did that change the way you viewed prayer?
2. What is one highlight from the sermon and one question that you had after hearing the sermon?
3. Do you consider yourself a good pray-er? What are some hurdles you have faced in committing to pray?
4. Our sermon argued that prayer in the Bible is “fundamentally calling on God to come through on his promises.” What does this mean? Do you agree or disagree with this statement? How would you define prayer in your own words?
5. Read Genesis 4:25–26 (and if you have time, Genesis 1–3). What does this passage tell us about the role of “hope” and “expectation” in our prayers?
6. Read Hebrews 11:13–16. What does this passage tell us about prayers that seem to go unanswered? What does it mean to “trust God in the gap” of our experience and his promises?
7. Share a time where you were utterly powerless to affect change. How did you feel? How can our powerlessness to bring lasting change in our lives and the lives of others motivative us to pray?
8. In our sermon, we heard this quote from Paul Miller: “Learned desperation is at the heart of a praying life.” What does this mean? Do you agree or disagree?
9. Read Matthew 26:39. How can we follow Jesus’s footsteps in praying “not my will but yours”?
10. How can we use the Bible to shape our prayers and more effectively pray the things God calls us to pray for?
11. Read Psalm 23. Using the method described in our sermon and in Donald Whitney’s book Praying the Bible, spend some time praying through this psalm as a group or individuals.
12. After praying through Psalm 23, share your thoughts with your group. What did it feel like to be more intentional in “calling on God to come through on his promises”?
13. What is a way you can be more intentional in prayer this week?