Two other tools we are equipped with when we receive Christ is a true ability to pray and hear from God, and to study and have Him teach us.

 

Prayer is simply a conversation with God. If you became a born again believer during this conference, you did not accept to be part of a religion. You accepted to be in a relationship.

 

Why do we need to pray? Think for a minute about the person you are closest to in your life. Now imagine when you first became close, you both expressed to each other how special they were to each other, and then you never heard it again. Would you still believe it after a few days? How about a week? How about a month? How about a year….a few years? How would that feel? How well do you think your relationship would work? How well would you understand each other?

 

Now imagine that every day, you had just 5 minutes with that person – to get their advice on decisions you are making, to share in the joy of something that was special for you, and to thank them for being your friend – just 5 minutes to talk to them and them to you. How would that feel? How well do you think your relationship would work? How well would you understand each other?

 

I know it can be a struggle to pray when you think your prayers are just going up into the sky and you’re wondering if God is really hearing, really listening. Let me recommend you leave your feelings behind on this one, and trust in what scripture says about praying. Here are a few really helpful ones but there are many.

 

Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Do not be anxious about anything but with everything by prayer, asking earnestly and humbly with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God which surpasses understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

 

This scripture teaches us that we can pray to God about everything we have concern about, seeking Him to be the answer instead of us, trusting and being thankful that He has the answer, and He promises to give us a peace that quiets the anxiousness and stress if we allow it.

 

Romans 8:26 says, “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”

 

This scripture teaches us that even when we are facing something that we are not sure how to pray about, that Holy Spirit prays for us on our behalf.”

 

Matthew 6:7 says, “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.”

 

This scripture teaches us that it is a conversation between God and us, not us and everyone who is listening to us. Pray with your true heart turned toward God and don’t worry about whether you chose the right words or not. God knows your heart.

 

Colossians 4:2 says, “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.”

 

This scripture teaches us to remain persistent and enduring in prayer, holding the expectation that God is faithful and will respond.

 

Testimony Opportunity:

(Share a testimony from your life that connects with what you have just taught about prayer. An example could be when you brought a prayer request before God, what it was, how you handled it and what God did.)

 

The next tool we are equipped with as born again believers is the knowledge from God to study, have Him teach us and understand His teaching. 1 Corinthians 2:12 says, “We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us”.

 

Why study? This is His instruction book for us. Imagine that you became a believer to find out that you have to figure out on your own how to live this Christian life! God didn’t do that. He gave us a book that is without error, all its writing are inspired by God, who breathed His content that He wanted written down into each person’s mind. It is authoritative over our lives because we have given God authority over our lives when we accept Him as our personal Lord and SAVIOR. We have become part of His family, and we want to understand what that means – Who our Father is, who we are as His children, what He asks of us and what He gives us. We can trust what we read just as it is written. We don’t have to go looking for “special spiritual understanding.” He made it plain and simple for everyone to be able to understand.

 

I want to teach you the process we use to study. We do not recommend you flip through the bible, let it fall open to a page, and study what is on that page. It is too easy to misunderstand what is being said and you don’t know where you are in the “story.”  It is like being dropped into the middle of a football match, and you have no idea what has gone on before to understand why the players are doing what they are doing now.

 

If you are a newborn again believer or new to reading the bible, I suggest starting with the New Testament (another word for covenant)  first since we are believers who are under the New Covenant Let’s say you want to start with Matthew.

 

Look up a summary about what the book is about, to whom it was written, and why it was written. If you have a smart phone, we recommend the “Blue Letter Bible” app which is available to download (it’s available in Africa). If you go to Matthew 1 and tap on the page, it will bring up a menu, and you can choose commentaries and find an overview written by many reputable pastors. This same app is also a website so if you have access to a laptop, you will find it at blueletterbible.org (Write this down on the side of the chart).

 

After we read the overview, we then read the whole book of Matthew. It helps us to remember that this was written as one book and there were no chapters, verses or titles until hundreds of years later. FC Grace has many tools available to assist you in study. You can reach out through your WhatsApp community or make a request on our website, fcgrace.org.

 

After we’ve read the whole book, we settle into a more detailed study chapter by chapter. This process will help you tremendously.

• prayer and journal – start with prayer, asking God to open up the scriptures for you to understand. It is a prayer He loves, as He wants us to know His scriptures intimately. Have a notebook or something to take notes in as you learn, and God’s reveals specific meaning for you.

• Meaning of passage? – Read the complete chapter. Is it connected to the previous chapter, or does it continue into the next chapter? You want to understand what is being said and the best way to do this is to follow the author’s thought until he changes the subject to a new thought. What is the passage talking about?

• What is the application of this meaning in my life? – how is this passage speaking to me? Am I being convicted, encouraged? What do I sense God is trying to teach me in this passage?

• What does it teach me about who is God? – what characteristics does it show me about God? How does He respond to issues on earth?

• What does it teach me about who I am as a child of God? – what characteristics does it show me about God’s children – about their heart, their words, their actions?

• Am I living like this? – Am I living like the child of God the author is describing? Is there something I need to ask God to build up in me?

• Memorize verses – was there a verse or verses that I found encouragement or a helpful reminder that I want to memorize?

• Meditate on lesson – Let this time in Scripture fill your mind and think about it during your day, what the Lord was showing you, what you learned about Him, what you learned about yourself as a child of God and whatever else He gave you.

 

Testimony Opportunity:

(Share a testimony from your life that connects with what you have just taught about study, about how God convicted you through verses you read in scripture, and it caused a change in you.)

 

Supporting Scripture for Prayer (You can write the verse reference on the chart and/or read your choice of verses to the audience)

• Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything but with everything by prayer, asking earnestly and humbly with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God which surpasses understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

• Romans 8:26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

• Matthew 6:7 And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.

• Colossians 4:2 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.

 

Supporting Scripture for Study (You can write the verse reference on the chart and/or read your choice of verses to the audience)

• 2 Timothy 3:16-17 All scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable for teaching, reproof, correction and training, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

• Psalm 1:1-3  Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the Lord,

meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.

• Deuteronomy 29:29 The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.

 

Small Group Breakout – Questions to consider

• How do you see your actions, thoughts and emotions living below the line?

• Have you ever tried to get out of this prison and if so, how long did it last?

• What are you experiencing today, what are those chains that keep you below the line?