Living by prayer and the word of God

Looking up

Discover - How can we grow our devotional lives so we can walk closer with Jesus?

Read - Mark 1:35-39. What do these verses tell us about what Jesus thought of prayer and having time with his Father in heaven?

Discuss - What would you say are some of the purposes of prayer (if you want some verses that might help try Philippians 4:6, Matthew 26:41, James 1:5 and James 5:13-16)?

• 2 Timothy 3:16 says “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Is there a verse or passage of Scripture that God has used to really speak to you recently?

• Christians talk about having a “quiet time” or “devotions” where we set aside time to meet with God in his word and speak and listen to him through prayer. In your experience what have you found helpful when having these quiet times? What do you find hard about having this time with God? How can we help encourage each other to have these times with God? 

Practice - Sometimes it can be hard knowing what to pray! Reading Matthew 6:9-13 (The Lord’s prayer) build your own prayer in your own words using the structure Jesus taught us.

Pray - If you feel able, share the prayers you’ve just written with the rest of the group.

Do - Encourage each other to have a “quiet time” with God each day this week.

Share - Talk to each other in the week about how having a devotional time is going. Is there something you feel like God has been saying to you through these times? Is there something you’ve been encouraged by that you could share with the group? How can you encourage one another to keep going if you’re finding this practice difficult?

Pray – It can be hard to pray. Pray for your prayer life!