Are We Praying for God’s Will, or Our Own?

0:00 Intro/The new podcast studio

2:05 The ways our prayer lives evolve from childhood to adulthood

6:06 Making contemplative prayer less daunting

12:07 Prayer as a communal activity

16:58 The importance of vulnerability and authenticity in our prayer lives

24:28 Are you praying for God to change the world, or change you?

30:24 How The Redeemed can help facilitate more fulfilling prayer experiences

36:40 The duality of our relationship with God

38:30 A closing prayer, with the Lord’s Prayer as our guide

Snippets/excerpts

3:29 to 4:31—Praying for our own wishes and desires vs. asking for God’s

6:28 to 7:38—Paul talks about the personal practices that helped make contemplative prayer feel less challenging

18:57 to 19:52—Being vulnerable in prayer and presenting our brokenness to God

27:02 to 28:08—Paul explains what it means to pray for our characteristics rather than our circumstances

Discussion

2:50—When you said prayers as a child, were you, like Paul, mostly just reciting words that other people had told you without really knowing what they meant? At what point in your life did prayer stop being rote memorization and become something that had personal meaning for you?

4:27—When you pray now as an adult, are you generally praying for things you want, even if they’re offered in good-faith and with selfless intentions? Has it been difficult for you to grasp the concept of prayer as asking for God’s will, rather than your own, to be done?

9:52—It’s the end of the day, you’re about to head to bed, and it hits you: “Oh, man, I forgot to pray today.” What are the things that are most likely to have distracted you from, or taken the place of, your daily prayer time?

14:06—What feels most natural to you: praying silently or aloud? Praying by yourself, with a small group of people, or with a big group? What makes prayer feel most meaningful to you?

19:31—When you pray, do you present your authentic, flawed, vulnerable self to God? Or do you feel like you have to put on a façade of being better and stronger than you actually are? Where do you think that need comes from?

26:40—Does the pessimism that Paul describes resonate in your own life? Have you ever held the philosophy that you should always prepare for the worst? Can you see how that attitude can take the emphasis off of God’s strength and put it on your own?

28:15—In your prayers, do you pray most often for God to change the circumstances around you, or for him to change you personally? Did Paul’s explanation of the difference between the two make sense to you? How might you change your prayer life as a result?

38:22—Has it been difficult for you to reconcile the idea of God as an almighty father with that of a God who loves you and wants to be your friend? Do you typically find yourself praying to one or the other? Are there ways you could pray meaningfully to both?

Matthew 6:5-14