Prayer using Scripture
LG Leader Guide
Welcome
Briefly welcome the group & pray before eating.
Welcome to life group! Life group is a safe, committed community to walk out our journey with Jesus together. Let’s pray and then eat!
Dinner Discussion (30-40 mins)
Usually dinner discussion will focus on reflecting on last week’s practice. Tonight, spend time first connecting with each other before diving into more focused discussion on last weeks’ topic. Here are some questions to get you started. Encourage people to share, not report.
Welcome to life group! Life group is a safe, committed community to walk out our journey with Jesus together. Let’s pray and then eat!
Dinner Discussion (30-40 mins)
Usually dinner discussion will focus on reflecting on last week’s practice. Tonight, spend time first connecting with each other before diving into more focused discussion on last weeks’ topic. Here are some questions to get you started. Encourage people to share, not report.
- How was your experience with using prayer lists for intercessory prayer?
- What’s one idea around intercessory prayer that you want to continue after this practice is officially over?
- What role did the Bible play in your earliest church experiences and how do you think that shaped you?
Vision / Prayer / Bible Reading
Vision & Prayer (5 mins) (optional)
This is to help transition into the night’s practice.
Tonight, we’re talking about engaging with the bible as prayer. Let’s first pray over the evening again.
Father, help us to have open eyes to see you, ourselves, and others clearly.
Jesus, help us to engage each other in light of your sacrificial love.
Holy Spirit, help us to walk in your grace and power.
Amen.
Bible reading (10 mins)
Together, read Matthew 5:17-20 out loud. Leave time after for reflection.
Here are some questions to think about while listening to the passage. This is not for discussion but for individual reflection.
This is to help transition into the night’s practice.
Tonight, we’re talking about engaging with the bible as prayer. Let’s first pray over the evening again.
Father, help us to have open eyes to see you, ourselves, and others clearly.
Jesus, help us to engage each other in light of your sacrificial love.
Holy Spirit, help us to walk in your grace and power.
Amen.
Bible reading (10 mins)
Together, read Matthew 5:17-20 out loud. Leave time after for reflection.
Here are some questions to think about while listening to the passage. This is not for discussion but for individual reflection.
- Which words or phrases resonate with you or your season of life at this moment?
- What do I need to remember, sit in, or practice in light of the text? What does this mean for my life today?
Practice: Prayer using Scripture
Overview (5-10 mins. Read through this together.)
The secular world can be quick to point out problems with the bible and we may have encountered many of these ourselves. Perhaps we see the Bible’s teachings as archaic at best, and morally reprehensible at worst. Or perhaps the Bible has been weaponized against you and you fear that it could happen all over again.
And yet, if we look at the life of Jesus we see a life deeply entrenched in the Hebrew scriptures, or what we call the Old Testament. Jesus quoted the scriptures, meditated on the scriptures, wrestled with the scriptures, interpreted the scriptures, found his identity in the scriptures, built his ethics on the scriptures, and framed his world in the story the scriptures tell.
In Matthew 5:17-20, Jesus speaks about his approach to his bible - the old testament. He did not come to “deconstruct it” but affirmed it through his teachings. His life is a lens through which the message of the entire bible can be seen rightly.
“Ultimately our trust in the bible stems from our trust in Jesus.” - Andrew Wilson
When we trust Jesus and the bible, we can use it in our relationship with God for deeper intimacy. Not as something for us to pick and choose as true but as god-breathed and authoritative that can speak into our lives in this modern age. The bible “re-presents” Jesus to the world. By regularly reading and praying scripture, we are allowing God to form us through it and asking God to change the world to be like it.
Lectio Divina (10-20 mins)
Tonight’s practice is Lectio Divina, which simply means “divine reading”. Just as we did on Sunday, we’ll read over a passage of scripture multiple times, letting the Holy Spirit use it to speak to us.
Lectio divina is not a new method of Bible Study. Whereas study of the Bible sets its focus on learning, lectio divina is a time-tested method of meeting God in the Scriptures. In doing so, the apprentice allows the Scriptures (in cooperation with the Spirit) to lead the reader into further intimacy with God as they move slowly, carefully, and repeatedly through the text.
As we read over this passage, use the following stages as guidance for response.
Let’s prepare to meet with God: Turn your phone off or set it away from yourself. Situate yourself comfortably in a quiet, solitary place. Calm your body and quiet your mind before God as you work to prepare your heart to receive what God has spoken through the text, and to respond accordingly. Finally, invite the Holy Spirit to guide your thinking and feeling as you read.
Read John 15:1-17 out loud. Go slower than feels comfortable normally reading out loud. Wait 2 minutes after reading and then read through it again. Read the passage a total of 3 times.
After the final reading and sitting in reflection, close in prayer thanking God for this time with him.
Practice for the coming week (5 mins. Read through this together.)
There are two options for practice for the coming week. The first is engaging with Lectio Divina throughout the week just as we did last night. You can follow the same structure of reading a passage of scripture out loud to yourself multiple times, letting God speak to you during and after it. Any passage of scripture can be used for lectio divina. Two examples to get you started are Psalm 100 or Romans 12. You can also listen to an audio bible or there’s a great album with lectio mediations called “Space Lectio Divina” by VOTA if that’s easier.
The second option is to engage with breath prayers based on scripture to work towards “prayer without ceasing”. Brayer prayers are short statements that can be prayed on the inhale and exhale breaths. Although breath prayers can be any phrase that is prayed this way, for this week we are using bible verses - find a short, meaningful bible verse that can be a guiding prayer. For example, using Psalm 23:1 - “The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.”
Closing Discussion (10-15 mins) (optional)
The secular world can be quick to point out problems with the bible and we may have encountered many of these ourselves. Perhaps we see the Bible’s teachings as archaic at best, and morally reprehensible at worst. Or perhaps the Bible has been weaponized against you and you fear that it could happen all over again.
And yet, if we look at the life of Jesus we see a life deeply entrenched in the Hebrew scriptures, or what we call the Old Testament. Jesus quoted the scriptures, meditated on the scriptures, wrestled with the scriptures, interpreted the scriptures, found his identity in the scriptures, built his ethics on the scriptures, and framed his world in the story the scriptures tell.
In Matthew 5:17-20, Jesus speaks about his approach to his bible - the old testament. He did not come to “deconstruct it” but affirmed it through his teachings. His life is a lens through which the message of the entire bible can be seen rightly.
“Ultimately our trust in the bible stems from our trust in Jesus.” - Andrew Wilson
When we trust Jesus and the bible, we can use it in our relationship with God for deeper intimacy. Not as something for us to pick and choose as true but as god-breathed and authoritative that can speak into our lives in this modern age. The bible “re-presents” Jesus to the world. By regularly reading and praying scripture, we are allowing God to form us through it and asking God to change the world to be like it.
Lectio Divina (10-20 mins)
Tonight’s practice is Lectio Divina, which simply means “divine reading”. Just as we did on Sunday, we’ll read over a passage of scripture multiple times, letting the Holy Spirit use it to speak to us.
Lectio divina is not a new method of Bible Study. Whereas study of the Bible sets its focus on learning, lectio divina is a time-tested method of meeting God in the Scriptures. In doing so, the apprentice allows the Scriptures (in cooperation with the Spirit) to lead the reader into further intimacy with God as they move slowly, carefully, and repeatedly through the text.
As we read over this passage, use the following stages as guidance for response.
- Reflect (mediatio): Beyond simply understanding the passage, allow the text to connect with you personally. Which words or phrases resonate with your heart, your season of life, or yourself at this moment? Ask, “What do I need to know, or be, or do in light of the text? What does this mean for my life today?”
- Respond (oratio): Talk to God about your experience. If you’re confused, say that. Moved? Express gratitude to God. Upset? Tell him about it. Compelled to worship? Worship. If the text has brought something else to mind, talk to God about that.
- Rest (contemplatio): Pause to sit in God’s presence before fleeing from the moment. You might express wonder, awe, gratitude, or praise through words, or you might allow yourself to feel and experience these things quietly before God.
Let’s prepare to meet with God: Turn your phone off or set it away from yourself. Situate yourself comfortably in a quiet, solitary place. Calm your body and quiet your mind before God as you work to prepare your heart to receive what God has spoken through the text, and to respond accordingly. Finally, invite the Holy Spirit to guide your thinking and feeling as you read.
Read John 15:1-17 out loud. Go slower than feels comfortable normally reading out loud. Wait 2 minutes after reading and then read through it again. Read the passage a total of 3 times.
After the final reading and sitting in reflection, close in prayer thanking God for this time with him.
Practice for the coming week (5 mins. Read through this together.)
There are two options for practice for the coming week. The first is engaging with Lectio Divina throughout the week just as we did last night. You can follow the same structure of reading a passage of scripture out loud to yourself multiple times, letting God speak to you during and after it. Any passage of scripture can be used for lectio divina. Two examples to get you started are Psalm 100 or Romans 12. You can also listen to an audio bible or there’s a great album with lectio mediations called “Space Lectio Divina” by VOTA if that’s easier.
The second option is to engage with breath prayers based on scripture to work towards “prayer without ceasing”. Brayer prayers are short statements that can be prayed on the inhale and exhale breaths. Although breath prayers can be any phrase that is prayed this way, for this week we are using bible verses - find a short, meaningful bible verse that can be a guiding prayer. For example, using Psalm 23:1 - “The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.”
Closing Discussion (10-15 mins) (optional)
- What does your practice of scripture reading look like right now? How did you get to that point?
- What difficulties do you face when it comes to the Bible (fear, confusion, boredom, skepticism, etc.)?
- When you read the Scriptures, do you feel as though you actually meet with and connect with God? Why or why not?
- What makes lectio divina different from a “bible study” or a teaching?
Closing
End in a time of prayer, sharing short prayer requests if time permits.