Session 7 – Small Group Study Guide
Study Questions
- Take time to read Matthew 6:5-13. The prayer for God to give us our daily needs in verse 11 is not a prayer in isolation. It is connected to the rest of the Lord’s prayer. Why is it important that we connect “give us this day our daily bread” to the earlier verses – especially verses 9-10?
- DeYoung writes, “As much as we may believe the myth of our self-sufficiency, the Lord’s Prayer teaches us otherwise. Even in the land of plenty, we ought to pray day by day for our daily bread” (57). As you think about your life, what are the daily things that you often assume? What are some reasons you might fail to pray for these things?
- Although the request for God to “give” us our daily bread can seem to belittle God, it can also honor God. He writes, “When we pray, God is not glad for demands, but he is glorified in our dependence” (58). How can you ask God to “give” in such a way that it honors and not belittles God, and depends on and not demands of God?
- Part of asking God for our daily needs is not only to grow our faith, but to help us see that God “is much kinder to us than we imagine” (60). Yet our thoughts often think of the ways we are anxious, the ways we lack, rather than the ways that God has been gracious and kind. To help facilitate thankfulness and contentment in your own heart instead of fear and anxiousness:
- What are the things that you find yourself anxious and fearful over? Write those things down.
- Take time to write down things that remind you of God’s kindness and provision – whether it’s verses, stories of God’s kindness to you, creating a thankfulness inventory, etc., and use these reminders to help you pray and trust that God is kind even in the midst of your fear.
- If we’re not careful, this portion of the Lord’s Prayer can become very man-centric. Yet throughout we are reminded that the context of this aspect of the prayer is always unto the Lord as we saw earlier. Think about the one thing that you’ve been praying for during this season. What would it look like for you to pray in such a way that you: (1) Honestly express your needs; and (2) Express it in a way that points to Christ makes His desires ultimate?
- One way that we are reminded of God’s kingdom (as we studied earlier in Session 5) in this section of the Lord’s Prayer is that this is a prayer for not for “me” but for “us.” There is an outward focus that we tend to forget. Kevin DeYoung insightfully notes, “Even if we say this prayer individually, it is still important to pray the ‘us.’ Maybe your bread seems to be plentiful, but not everyone’s cupboards are full” (58). As you think about your daily needs, who are the other people in your life who share those similar daily needs, and could you write out a prayer for God to meet their daily needs as well?
Practicing Prayer Individually
One of our hopes this season is to not only meditate on the contents of our study, but to allow such meditation to transform how we think and interact with God. So answer the following questions:
- Think back to session 1. What was the one area of your life that you identified that you’d like to grow in praying over for the rest of this season? How have you since grown in praying for that one area from our last study?
- Based upon what you learned from this session, how might you use the following ideas in your prayers:
- Contentment: Asking for daily bread reminds us that God will give us exactly what we need each and every day, whether spiritual or physical, mundane or monumental for our good and His glory.
- Gratitude: Asking for daily bread reminds us that God is unspeakably kind to us in the ways that He has provided for us, whether spiritual or physical, mundane or monumental.
- Dependence: Asking for daily bread reminds us that we don’t glorify God by pretending as if our daily needs are unimportant, we glorify God by recognizing our absolute dependence on Him for our daily bread – whether physical or spiritual, mundane or monumental.
- Write out a prayer based upon what you learned and take time to pray that prayer for work.
Sharing and Prayer in Groups
- Based upon what you wrote down in “Practicing Prayer Individually,” how has this study impacted the one area of your life you’ve been praying for? Share this with your prayer group so they know how to pray for you.
- Share other prayer requests:
