Week 6 - PRAY IT
CONNECT
What are you thankful for?
What challenge are you facing?
Have there been any answers to prayer?
Pray for each other.
Did anything stand out to you from last week’s follow-up Bible readings?
How did your “I will …” statement from last week go?
How did your sharing goal from last week go?
How’s your memory work coming along?
Acts 4:31 (NIV)
After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
DISCOVER
Let’s start with a review.
NEED IT
As we partner with Jesus in mission to those around us, we need the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.
BELIEVE IT
Just as Jesus ministered through the Person and power of the Holy Spirit, so can we.
SEEK IT
Because we continually need the filling of the Holy Spirit, we need to continually seek it.
TRY IT
As you are led by the Holy Spirit, act on these leadings from the Holy Spirit.
USE IT
Use your spiritual gift(s) for the blessing of others and the glory of God.
And now …
PRAY IT
Pray for others in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Ask God to speak to you as you read His Word.
Acts 28:1-10 (NLT)
1 Once we were safe on shore, we learned that we were on the island of Malta. 2 The people of the island were very kind to us. It was cold and rainy, so they built a fire on the shore to welcome us.
3 As Paul gathered an armful of sticks and was laying them on the fire, a poisonous snake, driven out by the heat, bit him on the hand. 4 The people of the island saw it hanging from his hand and said to each other, “A murderer, no doubt! Though he escaped the sea, justice will not permit him to live.” 5 But Paul shook off the snake into the fire and was unharmed. 6 The people waited for him to swell up or suddenly drop dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw that he wasn’t harmed, they changed their minds and decided he was a god.
7 Near the shore where we landed was an estate belonging to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us and treated us kindly for three days. 8 As it happened, Publius’s father was ill with fever and dysentery. Paul went in and prayed for him, and laying his hands on him, he healed him. 9 Then all the other sick people on the island came and were healed. 10 As a result we were showered with honors, and when the time came to sail, people supplied us with everything we would need for the trip.
Have someone retell the passage in their own words.
What stands out to you in this passage?
What does this passage say about God (The Father, His Son Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit)?
What does this passage say about people, including ourselves?
What does this passage say about the life God invites us to live?
Digging Deeper
Do you know of someone who was healed through prayer? What happened?
Do you know of someone who wasn’t healed through prayer? What happened? How did you deal with it?
What’s your reaction to this quote?
THE TENSION OF EXPECTATIONS AND DISAPPOINTMENTS
The Way believes that God’s healing power is still available today and that healing prayer is an important part of the ministry of the church. This is from What is the Kingdom: A Vineyard Perspective on the Kingdom of God …
The Kingdom Not Yet
While the kingdom of God was breaking into the world through Jesus, all human suffering, pain, and difficulty did not disappear. In fact, it still remains with us to this day. For Jesus, while the kingdom of God was happening in the present, it was also yet to come in all its fullness in the future.
Through Jesus, God had inaugurated the kingdom on earth, but he would consummate it one day in the future. In practical terms, this means that when we pray for the sick (a hallmark of the Vineyard from the beginning), some will be healed and others will not. Yet, with faith, we pray confidently for healing and entrust the results to God.
The Dynamic Tension We Live In
In the Vineyard, we embrace this dynamic tension. While we believe that God’s kingdom can invade any moment of our lives, not everyone will experience God’s love the way we want for them. We rejoice when one person experiences a miracle of healing, while we grieve as another person succumbs to the effects of cancer or poverty.
Some Christians respond to this tension between the now and the not yet of the kingdom by saying that God does not do miracles today. They contend that the gifts given by the Spirit of God were just for Jesus’ time and are not available to us now.
Some Christians respond to this tension by largely ignoring the reality that suffering continues in the world. These groups triumphantly declare that the kingdom should always be experienced demonstrably in the here and now—or something is wrong. If we don’t experience a moment of physical healing or personal transformation, it is probably our fault. For them, unanswered prayer reveals a lack of faith in us—and we had better work up more if want to see God do what he has promised to do.
How We Carry This Tension In The Vineyard
In the Vineyard, we choose to respectfully step away from both of these extremes. We believe that a necessary tension will always exist between the now and the not yet of the kingdom. We pray for the sick, and we have seen many healed. We do the work of compassion, and we have seen the poor restored to hope. But we do not always see the results we want to see this side of heaven. Yet we believe that every faith-filled act of prayer puts a deposit of love in to the person who is suffering. And we have testimonies from every corner of the earth that, at times, the kingdom of God does break through with power to heal those who are sick.
As we live in this interim time, the kingdom of God to come is our future hope. It is a day when the Scriptures tell us that “all things will be made new” (Rev. 21:5) and every tear will be wiped away from the face of the brokenhearted (Rev. 21:4). It is the day Isaiah prophesied would come (Is. 35:1-10), and John describes in his vision in Revelation 21:1-5. There will be no more innocent girls enslaved in the sex trafficking industry. There will be no more cancer. There will be an end to poverty. God will one day right this world.
Toward that day, we trust, we hope, and we pray in the way Jesus taught us to pray: “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10).
Stand AND Lean
In summary, you could think of it in this way. Just as you have two feet and two legs to stand on, so we stand on both The Already and The Not Yet of God’s Kingdom. This keeps us balanced. However, as we stand on both legs, let’s lean toward The Already of God’s Kingdom. Let’s boldly pray and believe and hope for God’s Kingdom to come to earth now. Let’s lean, but not fall over. As we lean into The Already, let’s remain aware—sometimes painfully aware—of The Not Yet. We’re not in heaven yet, but we still pray that heaven will increasingly come to earth in our lives and through our ministry.
The bottomline, of course, is obedience. Jesus calls us to join Him in His Kingdom ministry of compassion to others. So let’s ultimately lean into obedience and GO pray for others in Jesus’ name.
• What’s your reaction to this quote?
Robby Dawkins in DO WHAT JESUS DID: A Real-Life Field Guide to Healing the Sick, Routing Demons and Changing Lives Forever, p. 206
The fullness of the Kingdom is yet to come, but there’s a level of the Kingdom we aren’t experiencing now because we’re not GOING.
5 STEP PRAYER MODEL
Here’s a simple model to follow when praying for someone. This is only a model and not a magic formula.
1. ASK
“How can I pray for you?” or “What would you like Jesus to do for you?” Listen well and it may be helpful to reflect back their request. “So you’re asking for ….”
2. INVITE
Ask the Father/Jesus/Holy Spirit to come and to show His presence and love to the person you’re praying for. Let the person know that you’ll pause for a moment to just be still. This gives space and time for the person to experience God’s presence personally and for you to listen for direction from the Spirit. Be okay with a bit of silence. Your comfort will make them comfortable.
3. PRAY
Pray for what the person has requested. Pray as the Holy Spirit leads. If appropriate, lay hands on the person. Generally, keep your prayer short and sweet. And don’t preach through your prayer. Just pray.
Note that the prayers that Jesus and the early church prayed were usually quite short and direct. In fact, in many ways, they were more declarations, even commands, than prayers, such as, “In Jesus’ name, medical condition be healed” or “In Jesus’ name, demon come out.” Jesus has authorized us to use His name boldly and compassionately for His Kingdom.
Pray something like this: “Lord, thank You for Your loving presence and Your healing power. I pray that You would heal _____’s knee. Knee be healed in Jesus’ name, Amen.”
4. CHECK
Ask, “What’s happening?” or “What’s God doing?” For example, if the person asked for prayer for their knee, you could ask them how it’s feeling or how the level of pain is now or if they can do something they couldn’t do before. If the person asked for prayer for wisdom in some life decision, you could ask if they are getting any thoughts that may be helpful. If the person asked for a breakthrough in some relationship, you could ask if they are getting any ideas on how to seek reconciliation. If the person asked for help in overcoming some trauma or addiction, you could ask if they are experiencing any new hope.
After checking, you may want to return to prayer, thanking the Lord for what He is doing and asking Him to continue to do more.
5. NEXT?
Ask, “What’s next?” What about getting together again to pray? Does the person know Jesus? How could you introduce them to Jesus? Could you invite the person out for coffee? How about inviting them to church? How can you use this prayer encounter as an opportunity to develop a deeper relationship with them and possible discipleship to Jesus?
What do you like about this prayer model?
What challenges you about this prayer model?
What would you add to this prayer model?
Who needs prayer right now? Use the 5 Step Prayer Model to pray for them.
You’re encouraged to go out as a group to pray for people. A good way to approach people is to simply say, “We’re out praying for people. Can we pray for you?” or even more directly, “How can we pray for you?” And then use the 5 Step Prayer Model if they allow you to pray.
Where and when will your group go out and pray for people?
And finally, ask Your 3 how you can be praying for them. Once again, use the 5 Step Prayer Model.
Who in particular can you ask “How can I pray for you?” this coming week?
LIVE
What truth have you discovered from today’s Bible passage(s) and conversation?
What would stop you from believing and obeying this truth?
How will you live out this truth this coming week? Finish this statement: “I will ….”
Who else needs to hear this truth? How could you share it with them?
When will we meet again?
Who will facilitate that meeting?
Pray for God’s help as you seek to follow Jesus this coming week.
FOLLOW-UP BIBLE READINGS
Here are the Bible passages you are encouraged to read this coming week:
BUDDY SYSTEM
Connect with your buddy this week and ask each other these questions:
How are your readings going?
How’s your “I will …” statement coming along?
How’s your sharing goal coming along?
How can I pray for you?
PRINTABLE PDF
FILLING - Week 6 printable PDF
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