Group Study:
Pray Like This

Sessions
Study Resources

Session #1: Our Father in Heaven

Connect20-25 minutes

If this is your first time meeting as a group, take some time to get to know each other. Good questions to start with: “What keeps you busy during the week?” and / or “How did you get connected at The Crossing?” Then, start on the prayer questions.
If your group has been together for a while, go ahead and get started on the prayer questions after you catch up on life.
Prayer Questions:
Think back over the last week. First take a few minutes to answer these questions alone, then talk with your group.
  1. How frequently do you pray?
  2. Put a checkmark next to reasons you’ve prayed in the last week. “I’ve prayed to”
    • praise God for how great he is
    • give thanks for a meal
    • ask for protection / safety for loved ones
    • ask for wisdom / words for a tough situation
    • have a desired outcome
    • ask for clarity about a problem at work
    • express gratefulness for things other than a meal
    • express anger about something that happened
    • confess and ask for forgiveness
    • have God show himself to me or others
    • help to understand or connect with the Bible
    • seek peace
    • other
  3. What do you spend the most time praying about?
Discuss:
  • What did you learn about yourself and prayer through this exercise?
  • What did you learn about prayer growing up?
  • Any reservations with the Lord’s Prayer? Does it seem too routine, simple, inauthentic?
  • Can you recall any prayers that have been answered lately?
  • How would you like to grow in prayer in the next 8 weeks?

Learn5-7 minutes

You will watch a short clip of the message from this series to set up your group discussion. The full version of the message is also available online to reference before or after your group meeting.

Discuss20-30 minutes

  1. What stands out to you from the weekend message or this video?
  2. What does Jesus mean when he tells us to pray "in secret?" 
  3. In what ways do we pray "babbling like pagans?" Why is this so easy to do? 
  4. Read 1 John 3:1. What gets in the way of experiencing the Father’s love?
  5. Read Romans 8:14-17. How does being adopted into God’s family change the way you live?
  6. What steps can you take to remember and experience God's love this week?

Pray10-15 minutes

Ask for prayer requests and then close your time together by praying the Lord’s prayer:
  • Our Father who art in heaven,
  • Hallowed be thy name
  • Thy kingdom come;
  • Thy will be done
  • On earth as it is in heaven
  • Give us this day, our daily bread
  • And forgive us our debts
  • As we forgive our debtors
  • And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
  • For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

Action Steps5-10 minutes

Between now and next week, here are some suggestions for action steps.
Attend the Weekend Service: If you could sum up the message in one sentence, what would it be? (Write this and any other takeaways in the Pray Like This notebook and bring it with you to group.)
If you and your group want to go deeper, here are some additional action steps. With your group, select one of these to commit to this week:
Prayer Practice: What do you usually do for the first five minutes each day? Before your feet hit the ground each morning, say the Lord’s Prayer. How does the Holy Spirit nudge you as you do this? Try it out and then come ready to talk to the group about your experience.
Watch an A&Q Video: The Names of God. Jot down names of God mentioned. Reflect on the names you use for God.
Journal Your Prayers: One of the ways you can record your prayers, reflect on them over time, and see them answered is by writing in a prayer journal. It can be as simple as recording a few bullet points each day. Consider trying out a prayer journal for these next 8 weeks.
Print Session Content

Sessions:
8
Audience:
Everyone
Format:
Video
Type:
Bible