Want to learn more about Prayer? Use these Bible Studies for personal devotion, group Bible studies, or teaching a church class. Below are links to the lessons in this 13-part series.
I just finished reading the book “Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire” by Jim Cymbala (Zondervan, 1997). It is a terrific book about prayer. The thesis of the book is that if you want a church to grow you need to cultivate the prayer life of the members. My timing for reading the Cymbala book was perfect because this quarter we begin a study on prayer. I need to improve my prayer life. If you need to improve your prayer life, let’s jump into our new study!
A first grader in my wife’s class was discouraged
because his little life was not going well. He confided in my wife,
“I don’t know why this is happening to me, I pay my tithe!” Does
this little guy express your feelings sometimes? Something bad is
happening in your life and you cannot understand why God is allowing
it to happen? Do you pray and it seems that God is not answering or
not giving the answer you deserve? One of the most encouraging
stories in the Bible is the story of Job. Let’s jump in and see what
we can learn about his prayers in times of great discouragement!
Moses did so much for the Israelites. Do you think he
taught them to pray? I’ll bet he did. Our study this week is a unique
opportunity to study a prayer that is attributed by most scholars to
Moses. The NIV, along with many translations, begins Psalms 90 with
the script: “A prayer of Moses the man of God.” Let’s dive into our
study of this important prayer of Moses!
So far this quarter we have explored the prayers of
Jesus, Moses and Job. Are there any women in the Bible whose
experience can teach us about prayer? This week the title of our
lesson turns our attention to two of the most blessed mothers in the
Bible. Because of the amount of material involved, we are only going
to be able to cover Hannah in this study. Let’s jump in and see what
can we learn from this saint!
Do you fear that your prayers are not heard by God
because of some past sin? Does sin cause you to think you cannot
approach a Holy God? This week we look not only at the prayer of
King David after he committed some of the worst sins, we gain an
insight into avoiding those kinds of sins. Let’s jump into our
study!
Is the God who created the universe interested in us?
Is He willing to personally interact with us in our worship? This
week we study the prayer King Solomon offered at the dedication of
the temple. It is a prayer that teaches us more about the
relationship we could have with God. Let’s jump into our study!
At work do you sometimes feel you are the only one, or
just one of a few, who serve God? Do you feel that God has placed a
burden on you to reveal His greatness? Our study this week is about
how God partnered with Elijah to reveal God’s power and greatness.
This partnership involved prayer. Let’s jump in!
A preacher told the story about a man who wanted to be
sure he ended it all. Carrying a rope and a gun the man crawled out
on a branch over a deep river. He tied one end of the rope around
the branch and the other around his neck. At the instant he jumped
off the branch, he planned to shoot himself in the head. He figured
that if the bullet didn’t work, the rope would. If the rope broke,
he would drown. Sort of a triple back-up system.
Our study this week is about the prayers of Hezekiah. Hezekiah did
not want to kill himself – he desperately wanted to live. But he
could sympathize with the man on the branch. We will discover that
Hezekiah faced a triple threat. Not only was he faced with losing
his life work as king, he was in danger of getting himself and a lot
of other people killed by enemy soldiers. Then he found out that if
the soldiers didn’t get him, he would die of a terrible disease.
Let’s jump into our study!
This week we turn our attention to a prayer of Daniel –
a hero of the Old Testament. If your life was severely disrupted
when you were a child, you can sympathize with Daniel. His young
life turned lousy when he was taken into captivity by the Babylonians
and dragged away from his homeland. Although he was a captive,
through his faithfulness to God, he rose to become the highest-level
government official. Daniel had such a great reputation that he
remained in power even when his captors were defeated and the
government changed.
Is prayer just a one-way communication? We talk and
then we talk some more? If you say, “No,” prayer is both speaking to
God and listening for His answer, then you will want to jump into
this lesson with us. Last week, we discussed how Daniel prayed to God
to be able to go home. This week our study is John 14 where we find
Jesus answering the “how to go home” prayers of His disciples before
they even feel the need. These words are part of God’s message to
His disciples in all ages when we face confusing and trying
situations.
Do you wish you had someone to watch over you? Someone
who really cared about your problems and your future? Do you show
this kind of care and love for others? This week we see God’s
unselfish compassion for us as we continue our study of Jesus’ last
hours on earth. Last week we studied Jesus’ words of comfort to His
disciples before He was taken from them. This week we look at His
prayer for His disciples. Let’s dive in!
How is your local church? Does it need help? Do you
feel the problems are too big for you to handle? This week our study
is the first chapter of Ephesians. Paul, while under house arrest in
Rome, writes a letter of encouragement to the church in Ephesus.
Although the letter is not a prayer, it reveals the nature of Paul’s
prayers for this church and the type of prayer and attitude we can
have towards our local congregation. Let’s jump into our study!
Do you remember what we discovered about the beginning
of all the famous prayers we have studied so far this quarter? They
started out with praise to God! In our last study of this quarter, we
look more closely at this idea of praise in prayer. Let’s dive in!
