Video Transcript: The Role of Prayer in a Bible Study

So we've talked a lot about Bible studies of different ways to do Bible studies.  But many people will say, Well, what about prayer in Bible studies? So today  we're gonna talk about that. So the key to relationships, any relations, if we just  step back about prior what, what is sort of the key to all relationships. 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. two way thing is talking and listening, listening and talking.  And then repeatedly, is the habit of talking and listening. So you and I've 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. So when we talk about  talking to God, we have a special word for what we call it prayer. And the special word we have for listening is Bible, study your Bible reading your Bible  meditation, and then the habit of prayer and Bible, we have a special word,  right? It's called the Bible study. Because a Bible study really is a habit of this  talking and listening. And so far, we've talked about the listening part, 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, biblical approach. Okay, first,  this is a simple one is ACTS. Each letter of the word Acts stands for something.  The first one is adoration. Confession, and there's Thanksgiving. And then  there's supplication. So adoration let's just, let's just talk about each adoration  for adoration. You know, I think a lot of non Christians come to the church. When they hear somebody say adoration they have no idea what that means. What is  adoration Christian buzzword? It's a Christian buzzword. But it comes from  adore. Okay. Everyone knows when you adore someone. Right? You put them  on a pedestal and you lift them you lift them up. Michael Jordan? Yeah. Yeah.  So then people say Michael Jordan is awesome. So we do that, in prayer to  Lord God, you have created the heavens in the earth, you are awesome. You  are, you are grace, you are forgiving you. In other words, is sort of a list of the  Act 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 is said why never pray because God  already knows all these things. Right? So okay, yeah, God doesn't need it. But  you may need right right. And though, I mean, when I watched the golf channel,  really what is the Golf channel? It's a constant Adoration of the film. 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 so good. To talk to the Queen in  England comes every one lines the streets Yeah. And what what does it do for  people to lift someone else up 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 heavens in the earth and why am I worried about this little thing that I have in writing?  Right right right. So it helps you in your life to do this. Then this 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 absorbed or selfish  and healed through confession. 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 writing a list of the things that you are thankful for. Right? Right. And it will lift you out of your depression, it will. Supplication is a big word  buzzword. We need it because it's an act. It's about what needs Do you have  what do you want? What do you want God, 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 you can use these things in a Bible study, remember, we actually made ACTS sheet  works early on, 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  gonna say adoration and read a couple of things that you have. Right. And then  when everyone is participate a little bit, we'll move on. And everyone reads, so  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 in a public thing, right. And, and,  because the reason 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 loop de  loops, and then they get 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 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 was three  words, I can succeed at public prayer. And for some people, this is the first time  they've ever prayed publicly. And they actually did it. Often the Holy Spirit shows up. Miraculously pretty cool. Alright, so the Lord's Prayer is another sort of  outline that you can use Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name,  thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in the heavens. So where in  the world and you pray you pray that God's will? Give us this the early cases,  right, so what are your needs, and forgiveness? Forgive those who trespass  against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. So we're the temptations of confession or pre confession and for thine is the kingdom and the glory and the power forever and ever a little more adoration, Thanksgiving in the

seven connections are another way to start to 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, 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 is like focused on one of these Bible study  where you say, so we're gonna meet for the next seven weeks, or like that. And  each week, we're going to have specific prayer for one. So this week is personal next week, you're in marriages, or your marriage and family, friends at church  and powerful way to give cover all the rights in the Bible study. And it was nice  again, in a group, if you say, Okay, we're gonna have prayer and our prayers on  marriage. Right? So here we go. And then Bob starts, I am thankful for my wife  and his wife starts praying, she says, Lord, you know, when you know, we're  struggling with this area, we're looking, and all of a sudden vulnerability that Bob and Helen showed. Now, the next couple all of a sudden, might reveal a little  more than they would have otherwise. Right? And all of a sudden, that becomes a cathartic, you know, in some ways, that's what prayer is to 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, what is that? I went, I went on. When I was a teenager, I went on this mission trip to Ogden, Utah. And we had I think he  was a seminary guy and he was leading us and he taught us this I've never  heard of the prayers I know before we're, God blesses Jesus they came in, or  Our Father who art in heaven, you know, those kinds of standard prayers. I  didn't have this free form prayer, right? So he was like, Okay, let's have a free  form prayer. But a lot of times when you ever 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 an  together thing. What he said is, okay, here's what we're gonna do. We know one topic at a time. So someone says, praying, a prayer of adoration. Okay, that's  our topic. You know, when you're talking in a conversation like that, right? We  stick to one conversation or one topic for a while, until we're done with it. And  then someone brings up something else, and you start doing so that's what we  did, it'd be like, Okay, we're going to adoration. And you're all up, 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. And it's really  cool. Because it makes people feed off of each other, rather than just being an  isolated person doing their own prayer, doing their own thing is like, now you  have to listen, what is the topic. And I actually think that you can get this, if you  can get the metaphor on this, like, go back to the Golf Channel. 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 the subject, but we are into God's creation.  And if we really just think of it like, that's our normal life to to see the Lord, if  that's the topic. But you can pick any topic that you do that similar, right? So  someone might say, Lord, it might be a marriage topic, right? And now, maybe  it's a topic that no one really connects with that much. Well, a 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 when 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 on  that topic because it relates to them. And that's really what you want. But it's like instead of bouncing around, like pop random popcorn things running all over the place. It helps people listen to each other, and helps people feed off one  another, and in some ways, Lord, you know what Henry just said, I really that  sparked this in me. All of a sudden, I'm edifying. Your, you got vulnerable and  because of that, that reminded me of something and brought to light something  and now I which now encourages you because you took a chance of 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, you know, prayer is almost the Bible study. All prayer is is the Bible study you were doing with God? Right  there, right? You're you're in a way inviting God to take up one of the chairs in  the Bible study. Very good. This was very insightful and it reminds me of years of the best practices I've seen in ministry of amazing small group leaders intuitively have done something like this. Alright, so in the next session, we'll look at  another way that you can sort of enhance the Bible study experience.