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STUDY GUIDE Intercessory Prayer

Regal

Chapter One

Prayer-bring up the subject and you're likely to get a wide expanse of opinion about this simple yet pervasive part of our spiritual life. Intercessory prayer-bring up this subject and the panorama extends beyond the horizon! Coming to a conclusive, biblical answer regarding the nature and purpose of prayer is as much a quest to ask the right questions as it is to get the right answers.

Confronted with the Unexpected (page 15-17)

Sometimes what we expect to happen in response to prayer is not what we actually experience. Dutch shares a personal story of praying for a comatose woman named Diane. He expected that God would immediately answer his prayers for her healing in a quick and dramatic way; however, it didn't work out that way. Instead, he invested hours every week for a full year, slogging through intimidation, humiliation, questioning and soul-searching.

1. When you pray, what do you expect to happen?

2. Describe a time when you prayed and God answered your prayers exactly as you thought He should. What did you learn from this experience?

3. Describe a time when you prayed and God did not answer your prayers as you thought He should. What did you learn from this experience?

4. What is the difference between strong hope and great faith? How does each of these play a part in God's answering prayer?

The Power of Persistence (pages 17-18)

Sometimes our negative qualities are just positive ones that are being misused-channel them in the right direction and they become a strength. Dutch speaks of himself as being stubborn, yet this stubbornness helped him persevere in prayer for Diane in spite of seemingly impossible circumstances.

5. Write out the following Scriptures:

Luke 18:1

Galatians 6:9

What do these verses say about persistence?

How does this relate to prayer?

Oftentimes, our greatest spiritual growth occurs during difficult seasons of waiting. This is partly because God is as particular about the how of our journey as He is about the when. Dutch makes the statement, "We don't wait well. We're into microwaving; God, on the other hand, is usually into marinating" (p. 17). We love to see the hand of God move swiftly and powerfully, but many times God uses periods of uncertainty and waiting to stretch our ideas of who He is and who He wants us to be.

6. How do persistence and waiting relate to your own prayer experiences?

7. When is it okay to stop praying for something?

Hanging in there when praying seems fruitless or when you feel like giving up is what can make the difference between answered and unanswered prayer. In Dutch's case, it was persistent prayer that resulted in Diane's awakening from that coma and enjoying an incredible-and medically inexplicable miracle. The result of Dutch's waiting that year, continuing to cry out for God's intervention and healing, was not only restoration for Diane but also new understanding, increased faith and deeper fortitude for Dutch. That period of God-decreed waiting allowed a greater work to be done than an immediate healing would have.

Sometimes it seems that our prayers go unanswered. But this doesn't necessarily mean that something is wrong or that we are not in God's will. As we continue to persevere in prayer, God will continue to work and to align whatever it is we are praying for with His perfect plan. The waiting, in many cases, is just as important as the answer. We must pray with sensitivity to what God is saying, not just according to what we are desiring. We must trust that He is at work no matter what we see or do not see.

8. Can you recall a time when God used a period of waiting for answered prayer to strengthen your faith? What was the result?

So Many Questions

(pages 18-20)

We began this study by saying that asking the right questions is vital to getting the right answers. Dutch poses a series of important questions about prayer. Consider each one included below and jot down a quick response based on your understanding of Scripture.

9. Is God's will for a Christian automatically guaranteed or is it linked to prayer and other factors?

10. Why does it take so long to get an answer to prayer?

11. Why do we have to pray for the lost to be saved if that's God's desire anyway?

12. If Satan is defeated and Christ has all authority, shouldn't we just forget about the devil?

13. What exactly is intercessory prayer?

14. Is everything that happens to me or my family allowed by God?

15. How do we "bear one another's burdens" (Galatians 6:2)?

16. Is there a right time for answered prayer, or does the timing depend on me?

God is never offended by honesty. These questions and others like them do not rock His boat. In fact, He welcomes seeking hearts, and He promises to satisfy them.

Read Luke 11:1-13. We can stand before Jesus just as the disciples did and ask, "Lord, teach us to pray" (v. 1). He is not only an awesome and magnificent King but also a tender and caring Father. He is willing to reveal Himself and His ways to those who sincerely want to know. When we ask, He will give. When we seek, we will find.

17. Write out the following Scriptures:

Matthew 7:7-8

James 1:5

18. After reflecting on the ideas presented in this portion of the study, write out a prayer asking God to draw you into closer communion with Him through prayer. Lay out your concerns and questions before Him and allow His Spirit to begin to open the eyes of your heart to see Him more clearly.

Chapter Two

Perhaps the most fundamental point to address in our study of intercessory prayer is the need for it. After all, if God is the sovereign Ruler over everything ever created and if He has already decreed His will, then why should we pray? What does it matter? Won't God do what He wants anyway?

I Wonder Why

(pages 21-22)

While there are times when we do what God has said without understanding why, this is not the normative, everyday Christian experience-at least it doesn't have to be. God has given us a written revelation of His will and His ways-the Bible-so that we can, through the help of His Spirit, grow in our understanding of Him and His ways. Though we may see "through a glass, darkly" (1 Corinthians 13:12, KJV), we still can see!

1. Write out the following verses:

Jeremiah 33:3

1 Corinthians 2:12

Ephesians 1:17

God wants us to know Him and to understand, as best we can, the whys of His ways-including why He asks us to pray.

Is Prayer Really Necessary?

(pages 22-24)

2. Consider these quotes about the necessity of prayer:

You can do more than pray after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed.... Prayer is striking the winning blow ... service is gathering up the results.

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from STUDY GUIDE Intercessory Prayer by DUTCH SHEETS Copyright © 2004 by Dutch Sheets. Excerpted by permission.
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