On Sunday, we preachedLord, Teach Us To Pray Privately fromMatthew 6:5-15. Here are some questions for you and your SoulCare Community to apply the preached word:
1. What stood out to you (convicted, comforted, encouraged, instructed, etc) as you heard the sermon on Sunday?
2. Jesus warns against practicing religion (i.e. giving, fasting, praying, etc) in order to be seen by others. Have you felt the pressure to ‘perform’ and be ‘spiritually impressive’ in front of others?
3. What do you think is behind this pressure?
4. Behind our sin is a failure to believe God’s truth/gospel. The key to being set free is to believe God’s truth/gospel. Help one another apply this to our need/slavery to appear spiritually impressive.
Example: I feel the need to be spiritually impressive in front of others (ex: pray well in public) because ____________. If I believed _______________ in that moment, I would be freed from needing to be spiritually impressive in front of others.
5. Jesus also warns against thinking that God will hear your prayers if they are long and verbose (Matt. 6:7). Can you identify with feeling like the only way to get God’s attention was if you prayed well (i.e. long prayers with many words)?
6. How can believing that God is your Father who knows your needs (Matt. 6:8), free you from feeling like your prayers have to be impressive to gain God’s attention?
7. What stands out to you about the prayer that Jesus modeled for His disciples (Matt. 6:9-15)?
by Ajay Thomas
Ajay lives in Philadelphia with his wife Shainu and their kids Hannah and Micah. He is responsible for preaching and vision as a pastor at Seven Mile Road.