Video Transcript: The Role of Prayer in a Bible Study

Henry - So we've talked a lot about Bible studies, different ways to do Bible  studies, but many people say, Well, what about prayer in Bible studies is so  today we're talking about that.  

Steve - All right. So the key to relationships, any relationship, we just step back  about prayer, what? What is sort of the key to all relationships. Talking. If you  don't have a little talking or communicating one way or another, you don't have  much of a relationship. And then if someone's doing all kinds of talking, but  nobody's listening, there's a two way thing. It's talking and listening, listening  and talking and then repeatedly, it's the habit of talking and listening. So you and I have been doing this for 30 years, and because we've been talking and  listening for 30 years, we have a connection to one another that's strong, that's  deep, that has history. It's hard to break connection like that, because you have  way too much history, too many layers and things. So if I say something  offensive to you, it's in the context of 30 years, right? Whereas you get to know  somebody new, and then you say, one offensive what thing, and then they're  done with you, because they don't, they don't have the context of 30 years,  right? So when we talk about talking to God, we have a special word for it. We  call it prayer. And the special word we have for listening is Bible study or Bible  reading or Bible meditation, right? And then the habit of prayer and Bible we  have a special word, right? It's called the Bible study because so a Bible study  really is a habit of this talking and listening. And so far we've talked about the  listening part. This is God talking and listening going on while we're doing that.  But so we want to, we want to throw in there, into this whole bible study  discussion, how different ways that you can actually do prayer within the Bible  study context, a biblical approach? Yes, okay, okay. First, this is a simple one is  ACTS. Each letter of the word ACTS stands for something. The first one is  adoration, then there's confession, and there's Thanksgiving, and then there's  supplication. So adoration, let's just, let's just talk about adoration first.  Adoration. You know, I think a lot of non Christians come to the church and they  hear somebody say, adoration, they have no idea what that means. Yeah, what  is that Christian buzzword? It's a Christian buzzword, but it comes from adore  again. Everyone knows when you adore someone, right? You You put them on a pedestal, you lift them up. Michael Jordan, yeah, yeah. So then people say  Michael Jordan is awesome, yeah, so we do that in prayer too. Lord God, you  have created the heavens in the earth, you are awesome. You are you are  great, you are forgiving. You are, in other words, is sort of a list of the action.  Now, does God know these things, right? Of course, he does. But you know,  God knows your whole prayer, right? So I know, I just talked to somebody last  week in the pickleball world who said, Well, I never pray because God already  knows all these things, right? I said, okay, yeah, God doesn't need it, but you  may need it, right, right? 

Henry - And so fun. I mean, when I watch the Golf Channel, really, what is the  Golf channel? It's a constant adoration of and Phil Mickelson, or, you know,  Tiger Woods, or in their whole thing, and I'm just smiling away, like watching the  amazing putt. But God is way more amazing than any one thing he or person he created, like Tiger Woods, right?  

Steve - So in comes everyone like the streets, yeah. And what does that do for  people to lift someone else lifts you up, right? So, so to adore God for who God  is, reminds you if God, if I'm saying God, you're so awesome, the leader of the  

heavens in the earth. And why am I worried about this little thing that I have in  front of me? Right? Right? Right? So it helps you in your life to do this. Then  there's confession. Well, that's simple enough. You know, what things do you  feel bad about? You know, Lord, I didn't give my wife the attention I should have. I was self absorbed. I was selfish, right? And you actually get healed through  confession, right? Next thanksgiving to give thanks. It's right. It's hard to be  negative and thankful at the same time. If you're negative about something, start taking a list of the things that you are thankful for, right, right? And it will lift you  out of your depression. It will supplication. That's a big word, buzzword too.  Yeah, we need it because it's s on ACTS. It's about, well, what needs do you  have? What do you want God to do anything about your life, your family, your  marriage, your personal life, your business, your friends, your church, the  conflicting world that we live in. So what are those things? And if and so you can use these things in a Bible study. Remember, we actually made ACTS, see  works. People wrote them out, and then they would bring their ACTS sheets to  the Bible study, and then we go around the room. And then at the end of the  Bible study, we'd actually go, Okay, we're going to do the ACTS prayer. I'm going to say adoration and read a couple things that you have, right? And then when  everyone has participated a little bit. I'll move on confession, right? And now  everyone reads something that they wrote down. And what's cool about this,  especially a new Christian who doesn't, or even an old Christian who never has  prayed publicly, right? Right? People are threatened by prayer, right? In a public  thing, right? And, and because, in the reason that we're threatened is we hear  people do it so well in public, right? They they know how to take the plane up  and they fly and do a pretty loop, de loops, and then they got the right words to  bring it in for a landing. What's nice about this is, when we get to the  Thanksgiving thing, Thanksgiving. And I say, I'm thankful for my spouse. Okay, I  don't have to take the plane up. I don't have to have the great beginning and the ending and Jesus, you know, in the name of Jesus, Christ, our Lord and Savior.  Amen, no, I don't have to know any of those things. I can with three words. I can succeed at public prayer. And for some people, this is the first time they've ever  prayed publicly, right? 

Henry - And they actually did it. They did often the Holy Spirit shows up. Yes,  miraculously. It's pretty cool.  

Steve - All right, so the Lord's Prayer is another sort of outline that you can use  our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy, that's adoration, Thy kingdom  come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. So where in the world are  you? Could you pray that God's Will could be more adoration? Yep, give us this  daily, daily bread, supplication, right? So what are your needs? And forgive us  our trespasses. Forgive those who trespass against that and lead us not into  temptation, but deliver us from evil. So where are the temptations? Sort of  confession or pre confession, for thine is the kingdom and the glory and the  power forever and ever. A little more adoration, little Thanksgiving in there too.  Seven connections are another way to sort of organize your prayer. Connection. One, so you have your personal, personal needs. Right connection two  marriage, right connection. Three, family connection, four, friends connection,  five, church right? Connection, six, kingdom. Connection, seven world. Actually  in our planners, planner, there's seven days of the week, so every day focuses  on a different connection. So every week it was like focused on one of these.  

Henry - And you could do a Bible study where you say, so we're gonna meet for  the next seven weeks. Means Bible study are like that, and each week we're  going to have specific prayer for one of the so this week is personal. Next week  your marriages or your marriage and family, friends at churches, right, powerful  way to get cover all the baby right in the Bible study. And what's nice again, in a  group, if you say, Okay, we're gonna have prayer, and our prayers on marriage  today, right? So here we go. And then Bob starts, I think, for my wife, and just  his wife starts praying. She says, Lord, you know, you know, we're struggling  with this area. We're looking and all of a sudden, the vulnerability that Bob and  Helen showed, yeah, now the next couple all of a sudden might reveal a little  more than they would have otherwise, right? And all of a sudden it becomes a  cathartic and, you know, in some ways, that's what prayer is, right? They help us figure out what's good and what's wrong in our lives, and to bring it to the  surface so that we can actually lay some of these things at the feet of Jesus.  Beautiful. All right, conversation, conversational prayer. Now, what is that I went  on? I went on when I was a teenager. I went on this mission trip to Ogden, Utah, and we had this, I think he was a seminary guy, and he was leading us, and he  taught us this. I'd never heard of, you know, the prayers I knew before were, you know, God bless us, for Jesus sake amen, or Our Father, who art in heaven.  You know, those kind of standard prayers. I didn't have this free form prayer at  that time, right? So he was like, Okay, let's have a free form prayer. But a lot of  times when you have a free form prayer, you'll start praying, and you'll pray for 

five or six things, and the next person will pray for five or six random things, and  it's sort of like you're on your own trail, you're on your own trail, you're on your  trail, you're on your trail. And it's not like a together thing. What he said is, okay,  here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna have one topic at a time. So someone starts praying. Let's say, a prayer of adoration. Okay, that's our topic. You know,  when you're talking in a conversation like this, right? We stick to one  conversation or one topic for a while, right, until we're done with it, and then  someone brings up something else, and we start going. So that's what we did.  It'd be like, Okay, we're gonna do adoration. And Lord, I just you're all, you're  amazing creator, and then someone else, Lord the way you created the stars  that we're looking at tonight or right? And everyone sort of joins in that topic. And when there's a little bit of silence, someone can add a new topic, right? And it's  really cool, because it it, it makes people feed off of each other, rather than just  being an isolated person, doing their own prayer, doing their own thing. It's like,  now you have to listen, what is the topic?  

Henry - And I actually think that you can get this if you get the metaphor on this,  like, go back to the Golf Channel. Thing it is, I can watch the Golf Channel for an hour of them giving adoration to this putt, that putt, this person, that putt,  because I'm into this subject. But we are into God's creation. And if we really just think of that like that's a normal life to see the Lord. So if that's the topic, but you can pick any topic, you do that similar,  

Steve - right? So someone might say, Lord, it might be a marriage topic, right?  And now, no, maybe it's a topic that no one really connects with that much. Well, then couple people say something, and the topic is done, right? And then, just  like in a conversation, we go to the next topic, and then all of a sudden, you hit  onto a real topic that everyone can relate to. And all of a sudden, a lot of people  have a lot to say that topic because it relates to them. And that's really what you  want, right? But it's like, instead of bouncing around, like, right, like, random  popcorn, things running all over the place. It helps people listen to each other. It  helps people feed up one another. And in some ways, you know, Lord, You know what Henry just said. I really that sparked this in me. So all of a sudden, I'm  edifying your you got vulnerable because of that, that reminded me of something and brought to light something. And now I say it, which now encourages you,  because you took a chance on revealing something, but that led to someone  else being healed or having something that they want to bring to the Lord. And  in some ways, it's, you know, prayer is almost a Bible study. All prayer is, is the  Bible study you were doing with God, right there, right you're, in a way, inviting  God to take up one of the chairs in the Bible study. 

Henry - Very good. This was very insightful, and it reminds me of years of the  best practices that I've seen in ministry of amazing small group leaders,  intuitively have done stuff like this, all right,  

Steve - so in the next session, we'll look at another way that you can sort of  enhance the Bible study experience.