Tag: Prayer

Prayer Bible Study

Sweet Hour of Prayer: Lesson 3

Michelle Lesley

Previous Lessons: 1, 2,

Read 1 Samuel 1:21-2:11

Hannah’s Second Prayer

Questions to Consider

1. Briefly review lesson 2 (link above) to refresh your memory on the background and context of Hannah’s second prayer. Explain the events that led up to Hannah’s second prayer.

2. Compare Hannah’s second prayer with her first prayer in chapter 1 (lesson 2). What was the purpose of each of these prayers? Does the second prayer open the same way the first one did? Does it sound like one prayer is more private and the other is more public? How can you tell? Compare the length of the two prayers. How might the circumstances that led to each of these prayers have affected the length and the eloquence of each prayer? Think about the way you tend to pray, and the kind of phraseology you use when you’re praying privately in a time of desperate need versus praying publicly in a time of worship. How are your prayers different in these situations? Why?

3. Think about the components that typically make up our prayers today: praise, confession of sin, intercession, petition, etc. Which component is most prominent in Hannah’s second prayer? Which components are missing? Do the components we include or the components Hannah’s prayer is missing mean that we are praying wrong (or right), or that she was praying wrong (or right)? Why? Do we have to pray the same way, including the same components, every single time we pray?

4. While Hannah’s first prayer was a prayer of petition (asking God to provide for a need), her second prayer is a prayer of praise/exaltation and the proclamation of God’s attributes. Read through each verse of Hannah’s second prayer and make a list of each of the attributes of God (justice, mercy, sovereignty, compassion, etc.) she highlights, and the words she uses to do so. (Ex: 2- Holiness. “There is none holy like the Lord.”) Which of God’s attributes does this prayer focus on the most? Have you ever prayed a prayer like this that simply exalts the attributes of God?

5. Notice the words “but” and “and” in verses 4-7 and how the literary form of contrast is used in these verses (“The Lord does A BUT/AND does Z.”) How does this help drive home the point Hannah is making? Which attribute(s) of God does this format focus on? What do these contrasts tell us about the relationship between God and people?

6. Carefully examine verses 9-10, and think about the various genres of Scripture: historical narrative, wisdom literature, prophecy, poetry, didactic, apocalyptic, etc. Which category do 9-10 seem to fit into best? (Hint: At the time Hannah is saying this, has the Lord “judged the ends of the earth” yet? Does Israel have a “king” yet?)

7. Compare verses 1 and 10. Which phrase/imagery is used in both verses to “bookend” Hannah’s prayer? What does “my/his horn is exalted” mean (try to figure it out using your cross-references before clicking this link)? Who is “his king” and “his anointed” in verse 10? How does Hannah’s exalted “horn” of a miraculous conception and a first born son who is wholly dedicated to the Lord as a “priest“, prophet, and judge, point ahead to Christ, whose horn will ultimately be exalted? When you pray aloud with others, do your prayers exalt Christ and point people to Him?

Homework

•Put yourself in Hannah’s shoes in 1 Samuel 1. Imagine you’re at the house of the Lord worshiping Him for all He has done for you, and dropping off your child for the rest of his life. Write out what you would pray in that situation. Compare your prayer to Hannah’s second prayer. What are the similarities and differences, and what do you think are the reasons for those similarities and differences?

•This week, take some time each day to pray, simply focusing on the attributes of God.

Suggested Memory Verse

(Every week of our study, you’ll see a suggested memory verse like the one above. You are welcome to grab the memory verse pic to use as your screensaver or wallpaper on your phone or computer, print it out and stick it somewhere you’ll see it frequently, or use it in any other way you wish to help you memorize the verse.)

Prayer Bible Study

Sweet Hour of Prayer: Lesson 2

Michelle Lesley

Previous Lessons: 1

Read 1 Samuel 1

Hannah’s First Prayer

Questions to Consider

1. Are you familiar with what is going on in the history of Israel at this time? If not, use this synopsis (or another Bible Book Background) to bring you up to speed.

2. Carefully read verses 1-9. In your own words, briefly summarize the circumstances in Hannah’s life leading up to her first prayer (in 10-11).

3. Examine verses 10,15,16. What words are used to describe Hannah’s emotional and spiritual state? It has often been said that prayer shouldn’t be our last resort – that we shouldn’t wait until circumstances are desperate before we pray. Does it seem like that’s what’s going on here with Hannah, that she only turned to God as a last resort, or that this was the culmination of many prayers over the years? On what, from chapter 1, are you basing your answer? Compare 10,15,16 with 18b. How did Hannah’s emotional and spiritual state change after pouring her heart out to God? What can we learn from Hannah’s first prayer about pouring our hearts – our feelings – out to God?

4. Where did Hannah go to pray? (9-10) Why do you think it was important to her to pray at the temple? (Hint: Examine what she says about the house of the Lord and the “presence of the Lord” in 21,22,24). Could God only hear her, or would He only be willing to answer her, if she were praying in His house? True or false: God hears us better and our prayers carry more weight if we’re praying in church, or at the front of the sanctuary (at the “altar”) during a special time of the worship service, than if we’re praying at home, in the car, etc.?

5. Examine the content of Hannah’s first prayer. (11) What is Hannah praying for, and for whom? Is it OK to pray for the things our hearts long for? Why or why not?

“O Lord of hosts,” – How does Hannah start off her prayer? How does she address God? Compare this with the beginning of the Lord’s Prayer. How should this inform our own prayers?

“if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant” – What is Hannah seeking in this part of her prayer? Compare Hannah’s thoughts and request here with Hagar’s characterization of God as, “a God of seeing…I have seen him who looks after me.”

“but will give to your servant a son,” – How would you describe Hannah’s request? Is she timid and equivocating, or bold, direct, and specific? How does Hebrews 4:16 relate to this part of Hannah’s prayer?

“then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.” – (Use your footnotes and cross references if you’re not familiar with what Hannah is talking about here.) Hannah includes a vow, or promise to God, with her prayer, which is not something we’re accustomed to doing. Most of us have probably heard the story of the guy on his deathbed who promises God that if He will just let him live, he’ll live a good life, go to church every week, etc. We’ve been taught that’s “bargaining with God” and that we shouldn’t do that. Is Hannah bargaining with God in that same sense? What, from today’s passage would lead you to say “yes” or “no”? Have you ever made a vow to God in prayer? Did you keep that vow? Why might it be wise or unwise to make a vow to God when requesting something in prayer? Look up the word “vow” in a concordance. Does vowing seem to be more of an Old Testament thing or a New Testament thing? Why do you think that is?

6. Examine verse 19. Did Hannah go in to worship the Lord before or after He answered her prayer? Was her worship an attempt to manipulate God into giving her what she wanted, a response to knowing for a fact that He was going to give her what she wanted, or was her worship simply part of who she was as someone who loved God, regardless of whether or not He gave her what she wanted? Do you worship God continuously, whether or not He gives you what you’ve asked for in prayer?

7. Read 19-20. Did Hannah and Elkanah sit idly by and wait for God to provide a miraculous conception? What did they do? If you need a job, do you pray for God to send you a job and then sit on the couch watching TV and waiting for someone to call and ask you to come work for them, or do you ask God to provide a job and then read the want ads, fill out applications, and go on interviews? Explain how God blesses and answers prayer through the normal, day to day means and methods He has established. Is it any less “miraculous” for God to answer prayer through normal means and methods than to answer prayer in extraordinary way? Why? How did Hannah honor and recognize God for answering her prayer? (20b) How was Samuel, for the rest of his life, just by virtue of his name, a testimony to God answering prayer?

8. Study 21-28. Did Hannah keep the vow she made to the Lord? Why is this important? What was Hannah’s testimony of God’s answer to her prayer? (26-28) How do you think this impacted Eli? How can it be an encouragement to your pastor and your brothers and sisters in Christ to share with them how God has answered your prayers or worked in your life? We often share prayer requests. We don’t often share God’s answers. How might sharing God’s answers to prayer encourage others to pray?

Homework

•Think about one of the aspects of Hannah’s prayer we studied today – pouring out your heart to God, honoring His name in your prayers, worship, God’s work through normal means, etc. – and apply this aspect to your own prayer life this week.

•How has God answered a prayer or worked in your life in some way? Encourage your pastor, and share it with him!

Suggested Memory Verse

(Every week of our study, you’ll see a suggested memory verse like the one above. You are welcome to grab the memory verse pic to use as your screensaver or wallpaper on your phone or computer, print it out and stick it somewhere you’ll see it frequently, or use it in any other way you wish to help you memorize the verse.)

Prayer Bible Study

Sweet Hour of Prayer: Lesson 1- Introduction

Michelle Lesley

Welcome to our new study, Sweet Hour of Prayer: Learning to Pray from the People of Scripture!

“Lord, teach us to pray,” the disciples implored Jesus. Sometimes, no matter how close we are to Christ, we can feel unsure and awkward in prayer. Am I doing it right? Using the correct words? Asking within God’s will?

Over the next several weeks we’ll take a look at the topic of prayer through the example left to us by our brothers and sisters from the Old and New Testament. As we study it is my hope that your “hour of prayer” will become sweeter and sweeter.

You may wish to review my philosophy of Bible study at the “Bible studies” tab at the top of this page. My studies are designed to teach you how to study the Bible for yourself, which is why I don’t provide answers to the questions in the lessons.

My studies are also designed to be very flexible. You may answer all, any, or none of the questions in each lesson. All of my studies are self paced, so take as long or as short of a time in the passage and with the questions as you like. If, as you’re studying the text, the Holy Spirit leads you to focus on an aspect of the passage I haven’t addressed in the questions, awesome! Park yourself there and learn what He wants you to learn. These lessons are meant to be a tool for you to use as you see fit during your personal study time, not a school project where points are taken off if you don’t complete it the way the teacher wants.

As with all of my studies and articles, I use hyperlinks liberally. The main Scripture for each lesson will be linked at the beginning of the lesson, and there will be additional links in the lesson questions. Whenever you see a word in red, click on it, and it will take you to a Scripture, article, or other resource that will help as you study.

Introduction to Sweet Hour of Prayer

Part of my philosophy of Bible study is that our main “diet” should be systematic, expositional study of the text. In other words: pick a book of the Bible, start at the beginning, and study it through to the end. Then, pick another book and start again. This method of studying helps us understand passages in their context and correctly apply them to our lives, and helps us avoid eisegesis, taking passages out of context, and incorrectly applying them.

However, there is a place for the study of a biblical topic such as peace, sin, the family, God’s wrath, or biblical womanhood. For example: if you’re struggling to trust God because of a sudden circumstance in your life, you don’t have time to study through every book of the Bible to learn what the Bible says about trusting God. You may need to spend some time in focused study on passages from various books that deal specifically with the topic of trusting God, and that’s OK. My goal with this study is not only that you learn what the Bible has to say about the topic of prayer, but also to demonstrate how to do a topical study properly so you can do topical studies on your own when the need arises.

Normally, in the introductory lesson to my studies, we take a look at the author of the book of the Bible we’re studying, the audience he wrote it to, the historical setting of the book, and other “backstory” issues. But because this is a topical study, and we’ll be examining passages from various books of the Bible, we’ll have to briefly address those issues as needed in each lesson.

So in the introduction to this study, I’d like to address two items in your “backstory.”

Salvation

If you’re not saved, this study isn’t going to be very helpful to you, because prayer is about talking to Someone we are in right relationship with, and if you aren’t saved, you aren’t in right relationship with God.

This week, before we tackle prayer, I’d like everyone – even if you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you’re saved – to work through the Scriptures in my article Basic Training: The Gospel. Do you understand the biblical gospel? Have you truly repented of your sin and trusted Christ as Savior? Spend some time alone with God examining your heart and life against these Scriptures. If you’re unsure whether or not you’re genuinely saved, I would encourage you to put this study aside and work through my study Am I Really Saved?: A First John Check Up first. You can’t approach God in prayer if you don’t belong to God.

Expectations and Presuppositions

What do you expect out of this study? What kinds of ideas or preconceived notions are you carrying into this study? Take some time to answer the following questions.

1. When you hear the word “prayer,” what do you think of?

2. Without looking in your Bible, jot down five or ten things you think the Bible teaches about prayer.

3. What does your church teach about prayer? Does your church hold regular prayer meetings? Is there someone in your church that you look up to as a good example of how to pray?

4. What Scriptures come to mind when you think about prayer?

5. Why are you interested in a study about prayer, and what do you hope to get out of this study?

6. What are the strengths and weaknesses of your prayer life? What are some things you’d like to improve about your prayer life?

Take some time in prayer this week to begin preparing your heart for this study. If there’s a specific issue you struggle with when it comes to prayer, ask God to teach you the truth of His Word about that issue and strengthen your prayer life in that area. Write down your prayer and review it when the study is over to see how God answered you through the study of His Word. I’m excited to have you join me in this journey of discovering what God’s Word has to say about prayer!

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
That calls me from a world of care,
And bids me at my Father’s throne
Make all my wants and wishes known.
In seasons of distress and grief,
My soul has often found relief
And oft escaped the tempter’s snare
By thy return, sweet hour of prayer!

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
The joys I feel, the bliss I share,
Of those whose anxious spirits burn
With strong desires for thy return!
With such I hasten to the place
Where God my Savior shows His face,
And gladly take my station there,
And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
Thy wings shall my petition bear
To Him whose truth and faithfulness
Engage the waiting soul to bless.
And since He bids me seek His face,
Believe His Word and trust His grace,
I’ll cast on Him my every care,
And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
May I thy consolation share,
Till, from Mount Pisgah’s lofty height,
I view my home and take my flight:
This robe of flesh I’ll drop and rise
To seize the everlasting prize;
And shout, while passing through the air,
Farewell, farewell, sweet hour of prayer!
William Walford 1845

Guest Posts

Guest Post: 8 Ways to Pray for Your Pastor’s Wife

Michelle Lesley

If your theology pretty much matches up with mine (as outlined in the “Welcome” and “Statement of Faith” tabs) and you’d like to contribute a guest post, drop me an e-mail at MichelleLesley1@yahoo.com, and let’s chat about it.

 

8 Ways to Pray for Your Pastor’s Wife
by Jennifer Buck

As a pastor’s wife, I have seen many lists of ways to “pray for your pastor.” I admit, I usually scroll through and delete them as I find most to be…well…generic.

Michelle, however, actually hit the pulse of what a pastor really needs in our prayers. I found myself reading and inwardly shouting, “YES! This is exactly what pastors need.”.

Then my mind began forming a list of what their wives need in our prayers—more than just physical strength and a good group of friends. Although those things are important, I believe these other areas, as they are cultivated in her life would result in physical endurance and draw women wanting friendships with her.

I don’t think a pastor’s wife should live or look differently than any other believer in Christ. However, I do think she’s in this sometimes awkward but wonderful position of having a pulse on the heart of the church her husband serves and is so heavily invested in.

She’s an insider, but not really; it’s complicated. She may know a lot of what’s happening, but may have no leadership position. Even if she does, she’s limited to the scope of the area of which she heads.

She is not a female version of her husband. She is usually looked to as an over all leader by the people, but has no authority to act independently as a decision maker. Therefore, it does take an extra measure of grace to be acutely aware of the inner workings of the church but often only able to watch, offer ideas or opinions when asked, or mostly, wait as the leaders/committees make the decisions that will shape the church.

With those things in mind, if I were asked what to pray for me or any pastor’s wife, this would be my list:

1

Pray she has a deep love for the people in her church. There is a special love that can be developed for the Lord’s church. She doesn’t have to intimately know each person to hold a deep and genuine concern for their well-being and spiritual development.

2

That she loves the Lord God with all her heart and soul and mind. Being in the ministry does not guarantee that a once teachable heart cannot grow cold. Her personal walk must not be neglected in the doing of ministry. She needs to operate with a steady and sound mind.

3

That she delights in caring for her family/home. Her husband’s role will by necessity make his presence in the home sometimes erratic as he cares for the church. She needs to be the steady presence in the home. Her attitude will help form the opinion of her children about the church and the demands on their father. She will also need to be able to alert her husband when the needs of the home are greater for a period of time. Sometimes in ministry, the church will need his attention more than home and at other times the family will need his attention more. A wise wife will help him see the greater needs and willingly allow him to be where he is needed the most.

4

Pray she is able to submit to the reality that her daily living will serve as a model for others. She will naturally be looked to as an example, and she needs to be willing to live a life that reflects well the work of Christ in her.

5

That she does not have a grudge-holding heart. Ministry can be hard. Sometimes hurtful things are said and done and a pastor’s wife will not endure well if she carries the offenses of her husband. She must be able to take her hurt to the Lord and be willing to remind her husband, when he forgets, to lay his grievances before the cross also.

6

She needs to be able to allow her husband time to grieve in situations she cannot help him through. Sometimes he carries a grief no one but the Lord can lighten. He must simply walk through it.

7

That she be less concerned about what others think of her and more concerned about pleasing the Lord. That will provide much protection for her heart.

8

That she learns contentment and finds comfort in the knowledge that her personal and family needs will be provided by the Lord – in his time. Pray she functions knowing, “When I need it, it will be provided, if I don’t have it, I don’t need it yet.”

 

This is by no means an exhaustive list, these are just some of the things I have had to walk through and learned how to process in my years as a pastor’s wife. I’ve seen many other wives do these things well and watched them flourish in home and church. Others have not fared so well and I have watched with sadness as their marriage and ministry either crumbled or lost all effectiveness.

There is no doubt that ministry has its hard moments, however, it is also an amazing journey to be a part of laboring alongside your husband and witnessing the transforming work of the Gospel. Praying for your pastor and his wife can be a way for the church family to participate in the continuation and transforming work of the Gospel in the hearts of those who lead them.

Jennifer and her husband, Tom have been married for 32 years and have 3 children. For the last 13 years they have been serving in Lindale TX, where Tom is Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church. Jennifer is one of the teachers in the church’s Women’s Bible Study Fellowship and leads a small group discipleship called Gracestoration. Jennifer loves to teach and encourage women in the truths of Scripture.

Politics, Prayer

Throwback Thursday ~ Not Gonna Bow: 5 Reasons Prayer in School Isn’t the Magic Bullet Christians Think It Is

Michelle Lesley

Originally published August 29, 2014

Prayer In School

“We need to put prayer back in school!” It’s a well worn mantra that many Christians have been shouting from pulpits, in PTA meetings, and now on social media since the early 1960’s when it was outlawed. No, we don’t need to put prayer back in public schools, and I think if Christians who think that the United States would revert to some idyllic 1950’s utopia by re-instituting classroom prayer would give it five minutes of serious thought, they would run as far as they could from the idea of prayer in public schools.

Now, just so there are no misunderstandings, when I say “prayer in public schools,” I’m not talking about things like a child saying the blessing over his own lunch, or a group of kids who want to pray together during free time, or an after school club that wants to include prayer. Those are all voluntary, private things that should, by all means, be allowed. When I say “prayer in public schools,” I’m talking about a teacher or a student or someone over the loudspeaker leading the entire class in prayer during class time. And we definitely do not want that. Why?

1. What’s good for the Christian goose is good for the Muslim/Mormon/Atheist gander.
There is no way in the current cultural climate –none whatsoever- that any court in this land will re-institute Christian prayer, and only Christian prayer, in the classroom. And even if some well meaning judge did manage to do so, his decision would be overturned faster than you could say “amen.” You want prayer in the public school classroom? You might get Christian prayer, but you’re also going to get Muslim prayer, Mormon prayer, atheist prayer, Hindu prayer, Satanist prayer, and any other sect that comes along and wants to do prayer in the classroom. Do you really want your six year old faced with the choice of participating in a Satanic prayer or trying to get permission to abstain? Neither do I.

2. Why is it so important that we have prayer in schools?
Assuming you don’t work at a church or ministry, does your workplace gather all the employees at the beginning of the day and start with prayer? No? Has that been deeply detrimental to you personally or to your workplace? No? Then why is it so important that schools have prayer?

3. Post hoc ergo propter hoc.
This nifty little Latin phrase means “after this, therefore, because of this.” It refers to the faulty reasoning people sometimes use by assuming that because two events occurred near the same time or seem to be related, one of them must have caused the other.

Time and time again, I have heard Christians bemoan the moral state of this country and wail, “It all started when they took prayer out of schools!”

Post hoc ergo poppycock.¹

If the moral state of this country was so perfect before 1962, then how in the world did prayer ever get taken out of schools in the first place? No, things started going downhill in this country long before prayer was removed from schools. It was as a result of that moral decay that prayer was taken out of schools.

Saying that the removal of prayer from public schools created the mess our country is in today would be like someone sixty years from now saying, “When the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage nationwide, that’s when things started going bad for America.”

Because things are just so morally peachy right now.

4. It isn’t biblical.
It is not the job of a secular governmental institution or employee to monitor or lead our children in prayer, and no one could make the case from God’s word that it is. Scripture tells us that leading in prayer is the job of Christian parents and the church.

Neither would it be biblical for the sake of unsaved children in your child’s class that you’re hoping will somehow get saved by someone leading a prayer every morning. That’s not how people get saved. If you’re concerned about lost children, teach your child how to share the gospel. Befriend the children’s parents and share the gospel with the parents yourself. It’s free, it can be done immediately, without waiting for court decisions (that won’t be coming anyway) and it’s biblical.

5. It’s hypocritical.
It is often Christians who exclaim the loudest, and rightly so, that the government should back off and stop trying to control, regulate, and meddle in every square inch of our lives. Yet with regard to prayer in schools, Christians talk out of the other side of their mouths and practically beg the government to insinuate itself into an issue it has no business touching. (Not to mention that the government does such a bang up job of handling things like this.)

Will those very Christians complain if the government re-institutes prayer and then tries to regulate it just like they do everything else? And what about depending on the government for a handout of prayer when we are the ones who should be doing the work of teaching prayer and sharing the gospel? Isn’t that a sort of prayer “welfare” system? Putting prayer back in public schools would be a nightmare of false religions and government regulations.

We don’t need prayer in schools. We need prayer in homes and in churches. We need people sharing the gospel with their friends, fellow students, neighbors, and co-workers. We need Christians to be the salt and light Jesus called us to be in the world we actually live in rather than pining away for an imaginary ideal that will never come to fruition.

¹I only wish I were clever enough to have come up with this. Kudos to CHRIS ROSEBROUGH’S wife who coined the Phrase.