Women's Bible Study - Oct 5th, 2022

In one paragraph

Deborah led the women through a portion of the Lord's Prayer, using it as a framework for understanding why prayer matters and how to do it honestly. She drew on scripture, personal stories, and the PRAY acronym to help the group see prayer not as a polished performance but as a real conversation with a God who bends down to listen. Deborah opened by asking a direct question: does prayer actually...

Read together

1. Psalm 51:17 opening song lyric: 'my sacrifice, oh God, is a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart, oh God, you will not despise'
2. Psalm 116:1-2 David's words: 'I love the Lord, he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy, because he bends down to listen'
3. John 14:27 Jesus giving the gift of peace, telling listeners not to be afraid or troubled
4. Romans 5:3-5 suffering produces perseverance, perseverance character, character hope, and hope does not disappoint because God pours his love through the Holy Spirit
5. 2 Chronicles 7:14 if my people humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, God will hear, forgive, and heal their land
6. Exodus 32 Moses interceded asking Yahweh to turn from burning anger, and the Lord changed his mind about harm to his people
7. Jeremiah God told Jeremiah he would allow Babylon to take the people captive but said perhaps they would repent and he would relent
8. Jonah 3:9-10 the king of Nineveh asked if God might change his mind, and God saw their repentance and relented from the destruction he had planned
9. 2 Timothy 3:16 scripture is spirit-inspired, not just a book but from the Holy Spirit and alive
10. 2 Peter 1:21 the book was written by men who spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit
11. Romans 8:15 we received God's spirit when he adopted us as children and now we call out to him, Abba, father
12. Hebrews 4:16 we have confidence to approach the throne of grace and mercy
13. Psalm 97:9 for you, Lord, are the most high over all the earth, exalted far above all gods
14. Matthew 6:9-13 Jesus gives the Lord's Prayer as a model for how to pray
15. Luke 11:1-4 a disciple asked Jesus to teach them how to pray after watching him pray
16. Isaiah 59:2 iniquities have separated you from God, sins have hidden his face so he will not hear
17. Micah 7:7 as for me I will look to the Lord, I will wait for the God of my salvation, my God will hear me
18. Psalm 91:1-2 those who live in the shelter of the most high will find rest in the shadow of the almighty; he alone is my refuge and place of safety
19. Jeremiah 29:11 God told the Israelites in Babylon he knew the plans he had for them, plans to prosper and not harm them, to give hope and a future

Talk about it

1. Deborah said that out of all the spiritual disciplines, prayer is the hardest, and that a big reason is not being able to see someone responding to you. What makes prayer feel difficult for you personally, and has anything helped you push through that?
2. Deborah walked through Moses, Jeremiah, and Jonah as examples of God changing course when people repented, and she connected that to Second Chronicles 7 and praying for America. Do you find it easy or hard to believe that your prayers can affect something as large as a nation? What shapes that belief for you?
3. Deborah described the phrase 'holy be your name' as a request rather than a statement of praise, meaning she was asking that God's name be represented well through her own life. What would it look like practically for your daily words, emotions, or behavior to bear God's name well this week?
4. Deborah shared that praying 'your kingdom come, your will be done' means being ready to move outside your comfort zone, and she described her own years of difficulty after surrendering to staying in Jackson Hole. Has there been a time when surrendering to what God wanted cost you something real? What did you learn from it?
5. Deborah listed five things that can become barriers between us and God hearing our prayers: putting other things before God, compromising Jesus to please people, causing division rather than making peace, doubting God in hard times, and busyness. Which of those five do you find most present in your own life right now, and what would it look like to address it?