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.