How Can I Know God Hears and Answers My Prayers?

How to make sure your prayers never get answered.

| Matthew 6:1-8 |

• every whenever .(MULTILINE)
• Try to people with all your lingo.(MULTILINE)

Praying in a way God hears looks more like…

| Matthew 6:9-15 | Psalm 37:4 | Mark 1:35, 11:24 | Luke 5:16, 6:12 | James 4:2-3, 5:15 | 1 John 5:14-15 | 1 Kings 19:9-13 |

• Increasing the quality of your with and upon God.(MULTILINE)
• yourself with God’s .(MULTILINE)
• to God more than at God.(MULTILINE)
• in and being prepared to !(MULTILINE)

Small Group Questions

What do you think?

Have a member of the group quickly recap Sunday’s message and read through the fill-ins. What particular point stood out to you, challenged you, or raised a question for you?(MULTILINE)

The story of your life.

Do you feel more comfortable being silent in prayer before God or speaking out loud to God in prayer? Depending upon which is more comfortable, how do you feel when you are put in a position to do the other?(MULTILINE)

Digging deeper in God’s Word.

1. In 1 Kings 18, there’s a great story of the Prophet Elijah defeating the false prophets of Baal. It was a great win for God that should have been a morale boost for Elijah as well. However immediately after, he’s terrified again. Read 1 Kings 19:1-13 and respond to the prompts and questions. 
   1. Have a few members of the group recap the story using their own words.(MULTILINE)
   2. Compare and contrast the line Elijah repeats in verses 10 and 14 with what the prophet Obadiah did in 1 Kings 18:4. What insights can we gain from this about Elijah’s state of mind at this time?(MULTILINE)
   3. How does God finally speak and get through to Elijah?(MULTILINE)
   4. From this, what can we learn about God? People? God speaking to us?(MULTILINE)
2. Luke 18 has three great reminders from Jesus on different aspects of prayer that we should pursue. Read them out loud together one at a time and respond to the prompts and questions for each as you go.
   1. Luke 18:1-8.(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
   2. Luke 18:9-14.(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
   3. Luke 18:15-17.(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
   4. What does this story tell us about God/Prayer, people/ourselves?(MULTILINE)
3. What insights do the following verses provide on prayer and how it should be incorporated into our lives?
   1. Jeremiah 29:11-14.(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
   2. Philippians 4:6-7.(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
   3. James 5:16.(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
   4. 1 John 5:14-15.(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
   5. James 4:2-3.(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)

Personal Reflection and Application.

1. Have everyone share one thing that someone else mentioned in this discussion that struck a chord with you.(MULTILINE)
2. If possible, break up into smaller groups (men with men and women with women) to pray for one another.(MULTILINE)