Getting Started:

Q: In the movie, Aladdin, the Genie is bound to grant three wishes to whoever finds the lamp and awakens him:

  • If you were the one who found the lamp, what three things would wish for?

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RE-READ: Matthew 6:5-8 NLT

“When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.

“When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!

  • What have you been told about the purpose of prayer?

  • Have you ever thought that you were praying wrong?

  • How could you approach prayer as a conversation founded on relationship?

READ: Matthew 26:36-39 NLT

Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, “Sit here while I go over there to pray.” He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed. He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

  • What does Jesus’ prayer, here, reveal about the purpose of prayer?

  • What does it take to pour out your heart to God, and walk away saying “nevertheless”?

  • Have you ever prayed for something, gotten it, and then regretted it?

prayer is a conversation based in relationship

BEFORE YOU LEAVE

Commit as a group to being open and gracious with one another as you journey together through series, and pray that together you will become more aware of God’s presence and purpose