Fathered by God - Part 8: “Conversations with Our Father”

Spending time in communication with our heavenly Father can feel like an obligation or item to check off our daily list, but if we look to the perfect example of Jesus, we see that His communication with God was constant and refreshing. God uses his word, the Holy Spirit, and His people to speak to us, but we must do our part to listen and obey instead of requesting and expecting. See notes for verses (there are a lot, so choose what the Lord is showing you to use in your discussions) 1. Jesus prayed constantly. He prayed in the morning, in the evening, when it was quiet and when He was busy. What excuses do you use to not pray? Are these valid excuses? Why or why not? How could you integrate prayer more into your daily life? 2. Jesus prayed for guidance, and when God gave Him guidance, he obeyed. Jake said that we often bring our desires to God and ask for a rubber stamp of approval instead of truly searching for His guidance and following His instructions. Do you find yourself doing that? What would your prayers sound like if they were truly seeking His guidance instead of reading a list of requests? 3. Jesus prayed with and for others. Are you nervous or fearful about praying in front of other people? Why? Do you agree that because Jesus was in constant communication with God that praying in front of others was natural for Him? Could that be true for you? 4. Do you find that when you spend time in prayer and in God’s presence (intentionally) that you are refreshed? What do you tend to do for relaxation that could be replaced with time with the Lord? How do you think that would change your life? 5. Jesus prayed honest prayers. Do you think that your prayers are totally honest? Are you afraid to pray honest prayers? Why or why not? How would your prayers sound different if they were completely truthful? What emotions do you hold back in your prayer time? 6. If your are honest, have you fallen into the belief that God only speaks to some people? Why do you think that? 7. How has God used the Bible to speak in your life? What could you change to hear Him more clearly through His word? Have you seen how His word is personal to your life? 8. How has God used the Holy Spirit to speak in your life? What could you change to hear Him more clearly through His Holy Spirit? Do you expect to hear from Him daily? 9. How has God used His people to speak in your life? What could you change to hear Him more clearly through His people? Have you ever been a part of speaking to someone else for God? How did that impact you?