Prayer on Fire #2 of 3

In one paragraph

On January 28, 2017, Don led First Baptist Jackson through a morning of prayer and teaching built around the Lord's Prayer, the power of forgiveness, and the Father's blessing. Pastor Ray opened the service by reading from Isaiah 30 and setting the tone: God is not waiting to pull the rug out from under us, but is actively rising up, expecting to be gracious to us. The teaching moved through three...

Read together

1. Isaiah 30:18 God earnestly waits to be gracious to Israel despite their rebellion, used to show God pursues us
2. Matthew 6:12 forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors, the forgiveness portion of the Lord's Prayer pattern
3. Matthew 6:14-15 if you forgive men their sins your Father will forgive you, but if not He will not forgive yours
4. Luke 11 alternate location of the Lord's Prayer, referenced as source for the ten lessons on prayer
5. Matthew 6 location of the Lord's Prayer pattern taught through the seven-step prayer session
6. 1 John 1:9 if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse from all unrighteousness
7. 2 Chronicles 7:14 if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray, quoted by Jonathan Cahn at the inaugural prayer breakfast
8. Ephesians 4:32 be kind and compassionate, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you, spoken as a closing blessing over those who released unforgiveness

Talk about it

1. Pastor shared that he used to carry a hidden belief that God was waiting to pull the rug out from under him when things were going well. Have you ever found yourself thinking about God that way without really meaning to, and what changed that for you or what might need to change it?
2. Don described the Lord's Prayer not as something to memorize or put on a wall, but as a pattern meant to become the DNA of how we pray. What would it look like practically for prayer to be the DNA of your daily life rather than just one activity among many?
3. Don told the story of his son Mark in the Philippines, going through a serious illness after uprooting his family to serve, and said God responded, 'I am taking him through, not leaving him there.' How do you hold onto that distinction between God taking you through something and God abandoning you in it?
4. Don used a knife as an illustration for unforgiveness, saying that saying 'I forgive you' with your mouth while still holding the person hostage in your heart means the wound cannot heal. What is the difference between those two things in your own experience, and why is the second part so much harder than the first?
5. Don described the difference between a church that prays and a praying church, where prayer is not an activity the church does but the DNA everything else flows from. What would have to change in how you personally participate in this church for that shift to become real here?