LEADER HUDDLE, S1, Week 4

Imagine Immeasurably More- Week 4

Icebreaker: What is the last book/movie/tv show that you have completed recently you would recommend to the group? 

Study:

READ Jeremiah 33:3

1- What assurance does this passage give you about God answering prayers? 

2- Has God ever answered a prayer with a “no” but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise? If so, share with the group. 

3- Are there any “no’s” that you’ve received recently you need to trust God with?

• Leader Note: Hopefully this question can be a time to allow different group members to open up to one another and also encourage each other with Godly wisdom. A good tip to help foster this environment in a new group (or a quiet group) is be the first to share a raw testimony of a time God told you “no.” Set the tone. Then, allow the room to be silent as you wait on someone else to share 

READ Luke 8:40-42

4- Jesus doesn’t answer yes right away. Instead He promises His presence. How does this promise to be present encourage you? 

READ Luke 8:43-48

5- What do you think was different about the way this woman touched Jesus compared to all the other people crowding around him?

6- How are you hoping that an encounter with Jesus can change something you have been dealing with for a long time?

READ Luke 8:49-52

7- Have you ever thought that praying about something was just bothering God? How does this story (and the passage we read in Jeremiah 33), tell you differently? *an additional scripture to read to reinforce this question is Proverbs 15:8*

8- It took 12 verses for Jesus to even get to the house of Jairus, and his daughter still wasn’t healed yet. What is the most difficult part for you when it comes to waiting on God to answer your prayers? 

9- Has God ever done a transforming work in you, while you were waiting on him? Share that story as an encouragement to others who may be in a season of waiting.

READ Luke 8:53-55

10- Does the idea that God will sometimes answer prayers in a different way than you expected discourage you or encourage you? Why?

11- Jairus got his prayer of healing answered. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. Sometimes, God’s plan is bigger than an immediate answering of our prayers the way we would like them answered. How are we able to still trust God despite not always getting what we want, when we want it? 

• Leader Note: This is TOUGH! There may even be someone in your group who prayed fervently for healing for a loved one, and it didn’t come. Passages like this can be filled with hope for some, but heartbreak for others. God is still faithful. Let’s acknowledge as a group that God is still worthy of our trust. (Is. 55:8-9 may be a good place to turn if needed). 

Next Steps:

12- Get an update on the prayer requests you and your group have been praying over from the past couple weeks. 

13- With the 21 days of prayer coming to a close, talk as a group about how you can keep this momentum going, continue praying daily, and hold each other accountable to doing so.

LEADER HUDDLE- S1, Week 3

Imagine Immeasurably More- Week 3

Icebreaker: Who is the first person you go to for advice in life? Why?

Study:

READ James 5:17-18

1- What do you think James means when he says, “Elijah was a human being, even as we are”? 

2- How has prayer helped you navigate tough situations in the past?

READ 1 Kings 17:1

3- Have you experienced a season of consequence, because of doing things your way instead of God’s way?

READ 1 Kings 18:41

4- How do you think Elijah was able to hear the sound of rain in verse 41 and perceive it was coming?

READ 1 Kings 18:42

5- What can Elijah’s physical posture in prayer tell us about his view of God and his view of himself?

6- How can you take a practical step this week toward forming a higher view of God and a more humble view of self? 

7- In the same way, how can you take a practical step toward ensuring humility in prayer does not turn into a low view of self?

• Leader Note: “Humility is not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less.” -Rick Warren. A healthy high view should not lead to an unhealthy view of self. Rather, a right view of who God is leads to a correct view of who you are- a chosen child of God. How to balance these two postures is key to prayer as well as important in today’s identity troubled culture.

READ 1 Kings 18:43-44

8- Why do you think we often fail to be persistent in prayer? (Follow up questions if necessary): Is it a lack of confidence that God will answer,  a lack of confidence that your prayers are being heard, or something else?

9- Like a cloud appearing in the sky promising rain, how has God given you glimpses of hope through persistent prayer?

READ 1 Kings 18:45-46

10- Has God answered a big prayer at some point in your life? If so, share how this has helped strengthen you and build your faith.

11- Notice how in verse 41 Elijah told King Ahab to eat and drink because he knew there was a journey ahead of him. Elijah made that same trek on foot (v.46), without any food. All he needed was prayer. How has praying consistently for the past couple weeks strengthened you? How do you hope prayer will continue to strengthen you?

Next Steps:

12- If you’ve been writing down the things people were praying about from the last weeks, ask for an update now! If you have not been keeping up with prayer requests, now is a good time to ask.

13- What is something you have been praying about off and on, but can start praying about more persistently starting this week?

14- Read James 4 and 5 this week and write down everything you learn about prayer.

LEADER HUDDLE- S1, Week 2

Imagine Immeasurably More- Week 2

Icebreaker: You’re the host of a late night talk show. Who’s the first person you’d invite on as a guest?

Study:

Read 2 Kings 6:8-23

It may help to split up the story into 4 sections and have 4 different people read. Verses 8-10, 11-14, 15-19, 20-23. 

1- What are your first reactions to this crazy but awesome story? 

• Leader Note: It is helpful to simply discuss scripture without an agenda. Give your group the freedom to talk about this story for a few minutes without any sort of guidance to what was preached on Sunday or what type of answers are desired. We’ll get to Sunday’s message next. 
• If silence abounds, ask: what do you think about God giving away the enemy’s plans to Elisha? 

2- Have you ever felt like God was taking your plans for life and thwarting them like He did with the enemy king? 

GOD’S PERSPECTIVE (v.17)

3- What did Elisha do for the servant in this story? And how did he do it?  

• He helped the servant see God was acting in the situation. He did it through prayer.

4-  Is there anyone in your life currently who can be the Elisha for the decisions, problems, and challenges you face? 

5- What are the circumstances in your life right now (or recently) that could use prayer to see from God’s perspective?

GOD’S PLAN (v.18-20)

6- When reading that chariots of fire were surrounding the enemy and Elisha, our minds immediately jump to conclusions as to how God would solve this problem. How did God’s actual plan differ from the way we might think it should be resolved?

• Leader Note: God’s plan is different from ours, but it’s better. My first thought when reading this, was “oh, the chariots of fire from God are going to kill all the enemies” The Israelite King is also a good example in verse 22. 

7- How do you think Elisha knew what to ask of God when he said “Strike this people with blindness...”?

8- Prayer is a pathway toward understanding God’s plan for our lives. Have you seen this to be true personally? If so, share with the group.

GOD’S PURPOSE (v.22-23)

9- What was different about God’s purposes in this story versus the purposes that man had? 

10- The King of Israel saw a chance at winning a battle. Elisha saw an opportunity to end the war. Why do you think it is difficult for us to pass up momentary satisfaction for long-term peace and purpose? How can you try to pass up momentary satisfaction for the long term purposes of God?

Next Steps:

11- If you wrote down prayer requests and the things people were praying about from last week, ask for an update now! If you did not do it last week, you can use this space to ask: How can we as a group partner in prayer with you this week? 

12- What situations are you praying about right now? How can you pray to see them from God’s perspective?

13- Share with the group how the 21 days of prayer is going for you. (i.e. Have you been consistent? Why or why not? How have you seen change already taking place in your life? What’s something cool that happened in connection with your prayer request?)

LEADER HUDDLE- S1, Week 1

Imagine Immeasurably More- Week 1

TEXT: Luke 11:1-4 & Matthew 6:5-13

Icebreaker: Go around the group and have each person share something they enjoyed doing during the holidays while rGroups were in the offseason.

Ask each person why they joined a group and what they hope God does in their life through this season.

Study:

1- Have you ever prayed for something crazy that you may not have believed God would answer, but later you realized He answered it? Share with the group.

2- If you could ask God for anything in your life right now, what would it be?

3- What is the most difficult aspect of prayer for you personally? (e.g. actually doing it, being consistent, knowing how to pray, knowing what to pray...etc.)

PROXIMITY: WE NEED TO BE CLOSE TO GOD TO HEAR GOD

4- What are some things you have put into practice in the past that have helped you to be close to God in your prayer life? (e.g. kneeling, reading the Bible, being quiet, writing instead of talking...etc.)

PRESENCE: PRAYER IS ABOUT WHO WE ARE WITH, NOT JUST WHAT WE SAY

5- Why do you think that Jesus says “do not heap up empty words and phrases”? 

6- Knowing that prayer is about being with God, when are some good times in your day that you can spend alone with God in prayer?

POWER: KNOWING THE POWER AVAILABLE US TO CHANGES THE WAY WE PRAY

7- Why do you think the ways we see and understand God impact the way we pray?

8- How does the idea of God as seated in heaven, calm and in control, make you feel?

FREQUENCY: PRAYER IS ABOUT BEING WITH GOD OFTEN

9- Why do you think Jesus told His disciples to ask for their “daily bread” rather than asking God to provide for the entirety of their lives?

DEPENDENCE: PRAYER IS A SIGN THAT WE NEED GOD

10- Jesus models that we cannot get out of or even avoid bad situations on our own. Instead, we have to rely on God to deliver us from evil and temptations. Why do we usually try to do it all ourselves?

11- How do you hope these next few weeks studying prayer can help your relationship with God? 

Next Steps:

12- What is 1 thing we discussed that you can spend the next week focusing on in your prayer life?

13- What is something that you are going to ask God for in prayer this week?

• Leader Note: It would be a cool idea to write down what people in your group are asking God for. Then come back to them at the end of each rGroup time over the next few weeks and see how God might be answering prayers! 

14- Jesus taught His disciples HOW to pray, not WHAT to pray. How will you pray differently going forward after studying the Lord’s Prayer this week?