Prayer | Are We Just Talking to Ourselves?: A Prayer Series for Non-Prayers - Part 4

ARE WE JUST TALKING TO OURSELVES?<br/>A Prayer Series for Non-Prayers - Part 4<br/>Springcreek Church | Senior Pastor Keith Stewart<br/>November 13, 2022<br/><br/>Are we just talking to ourselves when we pray? No! Prayer is a two-way conversation between us and God – where we both speak and listen. Learn how to feel closer to God and more in tune with what He wants from you.<br/><br/>DISCUSSION QUESTIONS<br/><br/>1.) How have you seen preachers or believers abuse hearing “messages from God”? What didn’t set right with you when you heard someone make a statement like that?<br/><br/>2.) Learning to distinguish how we talk to ourselves from how God talks to us is so essential when it comes to learning to hear the voice of God. Take some time to discuss how you talk to yourself. What are some things you know you say to yourself regularly? Besides the content or substance of what you say to yourself, how would you describe the tone, spirit, or intensity with which you speak to yourself?<br/><br/>3.) What did you learn today in the message that was most helpful when it comes to the things that make God’s voice unique in your spirit? Why was that helpful? How will make use of it in the future?<br/><br/>4.) Take some time as a group and discuss the following chart and how it applies to your own walk with God…<br/><br/>GOD’S VOICE                     INNER CRITIC<br/>Stills you                                 Rushes you<br/>Leads you                               Pushes you<br/>Reassures you                     Frightens you<br/>Enlightens you                    Confuses you<br/>Encourages you                  Discourages you<br/>Comforts you                       Worries you<br/>Calms you                              Obsesses you<br/>Convicts you                        Condemns you<br/><br/>5.) How has your church family or Christian friends helped you with discerning the voice of God or getting clarity on what God might be saying to you?<br/><br/>6.) As Pastor Keith described the 5 signs you are hearing God’s voice (and not your ego), he shared a couple of illustrations about how these general guidelines have worked in his life (ie. hearing God say “match my pace” and his prayer to know how to pray for the sick woman “you’ll know when you get there”). Have you seen any of the following principles play out in regard to a message you received from God? Explain to the group how you received that message and what you did with it.<br/><br/>     1. They are short.<br/>     2. They are surprising.<br/>     3. They make sense.<br/>     4. They get to the point.<br/>     5. They leave their mark.<br/><br/>7.) As Pastor Keith wrapped up the message, he offered several practical ways for hearing the voice of God; Ignatius’ method, Dr. James Dobson’s method, Dallas Willard’s Paradoxical method, and Eli’s method. What, if anything useful, did you get from these various methods to hear from God? Have you used any of them yourself? Have you found a way that works well for you to put yourself in a position to receive from God?<br/><br/>https://www.springcreekchurch.org/<br/>#realspringcreekchurch #prayer #pray #answers #love #talk #listen #bestill #conversation #God #hear #messagefromGod