- How did Jesus feel about people in need? (Mark 1:40-41; 6:34)
- List some of the emotions that you see in Jesus’ life and prayers.
- In Luke 10:21, what prompted Jesus’ joyful prayer?
- What is the problem for us in repeating the same words again and again, and what is the sin against God? (Matthew 6:7-8)
- What is the emphasis in the first part of Jesus’ model prayers? (Matthew 6:9-10; Luke 11:2)
- What is the emphasis in the second part of Jesus’ model prayers? (Matthew 6:11-13; Luke 11:3-4)
- What do you learn from the term “Abba”? (Mark 14:36; Romans 8:15)
- What decisive action will you take now, as a result of this lesson?
EXTRA REFERENCES AND NOTES
Suppose that, for your own purposes, you want to look up other Scriptures related to this lesson. In that case, you may wish to start with the topics Thoughtful and Earnest.
Thoughtful Where is the sin in meaningless repetition? It treats God as impersonal and unreal. Imagine a friend who never changes what he says to you. His sterile manner implies that you are not worth even the little thought that normal relationships need. OT Malachi drew a similar picture. The Jews were bringing their worst animals for sacrifice. God challenged them: “When you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil? Present that to your governor; will he accept you or show you favor?” Malachi 1:8. We owe our very existence—including our capacity to think and to feel—to our Creator. When we come before Him, can we hardly rouse our thinking and feelings enough to use them? Do we treat Him as we’d never dare to treat our bosses and friends? Ecclesiastes 5:1-7 warns against approaching heaven’s King without proper thought and care. “Guard your steps when you go to the house of God…. Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few” Ecclesiastes 5:1-2. NT “The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers” 1 Peter 4:7. Prayer is with mind and spirit Romans 1:9-10; 1 Corinthians 14:15, in purity of heart 2 Timothy 2:22 cf. 1 Timothy 2:8.
Earnest Prayer should always be sincere, meaning from the heart, with all of the heart. OT This truth grows out of larger principles often stated by Bible: “You will seek the LORD your God and you will find Him, if you search after Him with all your heart and with all your soul” Deuteronomy 4:29 cf. Deuteronomy 6:5; 2 Chronicles 15:12; 31:21; Psalm 27:8; 119:2, 10; Jeremiah 29:13; Hosea 10:12. Examples: “O Lord, all my longing is before You; my sighing is not hidden from You” Psalm 38:9. “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh faints for You, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water Psalm 63:1 cf. Psalm 6:6; 22:1; 32:3; 69:3; 78:34; 84:1-11; Isaiah 26:9; Hosea 5:15. “In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I called. From His temple He heard my voice, and my cry came to His ears” 2 Samuel 22:7. “All Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and had sought Him with their whole desire, and He was found by them” 2 Chronicles 15:15. NT Jesus prayed “earnestly” in Gethsemane Luke 22:44. In the Greek language of the NT, that word is ektenos which combines two words: ek meaning out, and teino meaning to stretch. Stretching or straining graphically depicts the heart and mind pulled hard (ex-tended) in prayer—so hard in Jesus’ case that the sweat fell in great blood-like drops! The same word describes prayers in Acts 12:5, and our love for each other in 2 Peter 1:22. The Christian life is not slack and sloppy. It is taut, stretched out in love for God and man. The same point is made in Romans 12:11, “Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.” The Greek word for “zeal” here is spoude, from which English gets the word “speed.” It means diligence, and the speed or haste that urgent matters require, as in Mark 6:25. True Christianity is neither lazy nor slow; it is on the King’s urgent business. “Fervent” in Romans 12:11 translates the Greek word zeontes, from the verb zeo which means to be hot, to seethe, bubble or boil. The Christian spirit is not cold or lukewarm. It is hot and bubbling. We would say it is “on fire”! In this context of enthusiasm, the passage then urges us to be “constant in prayer” Romans 12:12. Prayer involves struggle Romans 15:30-33; Colossians 2:1; 4:12. The Holy Spirit shares our groaning Romans 8:22-27 cf. 2 Corinthians 5:2-5. “Earnest” prayer Matthew 9:38; Acts 12:5; 1 Thessalonians 3:10 cf. Romans 12:11-12; James 5:17-18. “Supplication” Acts 1:14; Ephesians 6:18; Philippians 4:6; 1 Timothy 2:1; 1 Timothy 5:5 cf. Hebrews 5:7. See Urgent (in the lesson – Jesus Shows Us That Prayer Should Be Sincere 2, segment Thought Questions, Extra References and Notes).