Just Pray - Wk. 3

 Icebreaker: What is your top 3 least favorite foods? this icebreaker has nothing to do with the rest of the study, it just helps get conversation going!

1- When in your life have you been most consistent in prayer? Why do you think that was the case?

READ Daniel 9:1-3

2- Hardship - being an exile in a foreign land - turned Daniel to God through prayer. What difficult circumstances has God used in your life to push you closer to Him? 

3- God's Word, specifically the book of Jeremiah, is what helped Daniel have understanding of his current situation. What practices are you currently doing to help you spend time with God's Word? 

4- God's Word also helped form Daniel's prayer that we are about to study. Have you ever used the Bible as a tool to help you pray? If so, share how that went. If not, how do you think it could be helpful to your prayer life?

As a way to form our prayers in accordance to God's Word, we are going to work through a model of prayer during hard times using the rest of Daniel 9. Each section will conclude with 1-2 questions and one way to pray it in your life. Encourage your group to use this prayer model this week with different passages of Scripture and in their own life situations.

READ Daniel 9:4-6

5- What do these verses tell you about God? What do they tell you about humankind? The first way to pray is a prayer of confession of sin against God.

READ Daniel 9:7-10

6- What do these verses tell you about God? What do they tell you about humankind? The second way to pray is to be honest with God about how you feel.

READ Daniel 9:11-14

7- What do these verses tell you about God? The third way to pray is to acknowledge the consequences of sin. Then, praise God that the ultimate consequence has been taken by Jesus' death on the cross.

READ Daniel 9:15-16

8- What do these verses tell you about God? The fourth way to pray is to remind yourself of all that God has done in the past on your behalf, then ask God to provide again.

READ Daniel 9:17-19

9- What does this passage tell you about God? The fifth way to pray is to recognize where the provision comes from in every circumstance. 

Summary: this week pray by confessing, being honest, acknowledging consequences and praising God for Jesus, reminding yourself of God's faithfulness, asking God to do it again, and recognizing God as the source for any and everything that happens as a result of this prayer. 

10- What was the group supposed to hold you accountable for in prayer over the past 2 weeks? How has it been going? How can we continue to pray for you and with you this week?