Luke 11:1-13
Lead in: In the Lord’s Prayer we pray, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
Prompt: In your life as you know it today, where is it hardest for you to pray “thy will be done”?
Lead in: In the Lord’s Prayer we pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.”
Prompt: In your life as you know it today, what is the daily bread that you pray for, the bread you need to sustain you from day-to-day on life’s journey?
Lead in: In the Lord’s Prayer we pray, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” It seems duplicitous to seek God’s forgiveness when we ourselves are not willing to
forgive others. Forgiving another is not easy. With God’s help, forgiveness is possible. It’s a process we work at and it is a grace we can grow into.
Prompt: In your life as you know it today, where is it hardest to forgive? What in you resists forgiving the one who has wronged you? What is the grace you most need right now?
Lead in: Jesus assures us that our prayers will be heard, “Ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you.” I think of the woman who prayed to God and was convinced her husband would be cured of his cancer. When her husband died, she lost all faith in God because she felt God had let her down.
Prompt: How do you respond to someone who feels God has let them down because what they prayed for failed to happen?
Prompt: Has there been a time when your prayers didn’t seem to be answered? What did that do to your faith?
Lead in: In Colossians 2:12, Paul speaks of baptism. His point is clear. If you were buried with Christ in baptism, you will also be raised to new life in him. Baptism celebrates a process that we learn how to live for the rest of our lives. Again and again, we die with Christ so we can live anew in Christ.
Prompt: As you reflect on your life, what have been the experiences that have helped you die to yourself and your old way of doing things? How did those experiences help you grow into the new life that Christ wants for us?