The Lord’s Prayer 

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To view the Leader Guide for this week, click here.

To view a .docx version of this guide, click here.

Introduction 

Last week, we discussed the story of a woman coming into the home of a Pharisee who Jesus was having dinner with so she could wash and anoint Jesus’ feet which caused the Pharisee to question Jesus’ validity and their interaction. This story showed us that we can experience the love of God when we love others. 

During the “Apply” section last week, everyone was encouraged to write down specific action steps they would work on throughout the week. Take some time to discuss how that went with the group. 

This week we will be discussing Jesus’ teaching on how to pray, which is commonly referred to as “The Lord’s Prayer”. 

First, however, begin your meeting in prayer for God’s blessing over this time with your group.

Connect  

• Would you rather have a long conversation made up of “small talk” or a short conversation that is intentional? 
• What is a word/phrase that you use in conversation but don’t realize you’re using it? 
• Have you ever been talking with someone who is not engaged or invested in the conversation? What does that feel like? 
  • What do you think helps make a conversation actually meaningful? 

Opening Thought 

Prayer can easily take a quiet backseat in our lives if we let it. We can also forget about the purpose of prayer if we are not careful. When we focus on connecting with God rather than the expectations of others, however, we can see that prayer is more than just blindly communicating, it becomes a meaningful conversation that helps us worship and trust God, as well as reflect on what he is trying to tell us.  

This leads us to our main idea for this week:  

Main idea for the week

We can flourish in our prayer life when we focus on God, not others.  

Here’s where we are this week

The story we are looking at today comes from a section called “The Sermon on the Mount”, which is a long teaching Jesus gives that outlines how those who follow him should live out their faith. The section we are reading comes immediately after Jesus has taught about how his disciples should live a life of integrity, kindness, goodness, forgiveness, peacefulness, compassion, and living with God as the focal point. At this point he turns to speaking about how to love God by seeking his approval, instead of others, specifically through prayer.  

Unpack 

Read each set of verses out loud as a group, making observations as you go. Afterward discuss each of the connected questions before moving to the next set of verses: 

Read  

Matthew 6:5-18 

Unpack 

• If one of the main callings for Christians is to be open about our faith, what is the purpose of being by yourself when you pray?  
  • Why do you think Jesus teaches that this is better? 
• Jesus says in the verses we just read together that we should be direct in our prayers to God, instead of simply repeating things over and over, because “your Father know exactly what you need even before you ask him”. 
  • What are some “filler” words or phrases that people (including yourself) might say within church culture today during prayer? (i.e.: saying God’s name before/after every sentence we say) 
    • Why is praying this way unhelpful?  
  • Why is praying so important if God already knows what we need? 
• Reflect on the template for prayer Jesus provides for his disciples, which is commonly called “The Lord’s Prayer”.  
  • What is the general outline of the template?  
  • What subject does Jesus focus on when illustrating how to pray?  
    • How does this template and focus Jesus provides match up to how we pray? 
      • How can the Lord’s Prayer guide the way you think about your prayer life? How can it help you think about and interact with God outside of prayer? 
• How does the Lord’s Prayer teach us about the importance of praise, requests, and confessions of what we’ve done wrong in our prayer lives? 
• What does Jesus seem to be believe is most important in how you interact with God? 
  • How does Jesus’ teachings on sincerity in worship affect the way you currently live out your faith in God? 
    • How do we balance outwardly expressing your faith with being authentic in your relationship with God, according to Jesus’ teachings in this section? 
  • How does the concept of God seeing what is done in secret influence your approach to acts of righteousness? 
• How does Jesus’ teaching on prayer and fasting apply to other aspects of how we should live out our spiritual life? 

Apply 

Based on the verses we just read, there are some things that we can do in response. Take a moment to discuss these questions as a group to decide what your personal action steps for the week can be: 

• What steps will you take to evaluate any areas you might lack authenticity in the way you follow Jesus?  
  • After evaluating yourself, how will you then practically apply Jesus’ teachings on sincere worship in your day-to-day faith journey? 
• How will we as a group seek authenticity in the way we grow in our relationship with Jesus?  
  • How will we keep each other accountable to the goal of not only praying and fasting well, but also to living a life focused on Jesus and his plans? 

Closing 

Read the first section to your group, then read the verse out loud to the group, and finally, move to the Prayer and Verses section: 

Prayer, if we are not careful, can become a mindless part of our lives where we do it out of obligation instead of a desire to talk to God. Yet, when we prioritize our connection with God over the opinions of others, we unlock its true potential. Prayer is not merely about words; it’s a heartfelt exchange that deepens our worship and fosters trust in God. This week, try to start using prayer to reflect on His guidance and presence in your lives to grow in your relationship with him. 

Prayer and Verses 

Ask for prayer requests and conclude your time with prayer then share the Key Verse for the Week and Daily Devotional Verses with the group. 

Thematic Reflection Verse for the Week  

*Read this verse, then encourage the practice of memorization through the week. 

1 Chronicles 16:11 

“Search for the Lord and for his strength; continually seek him.” 

**When practiced consistently, memorizing Bible verses can be an important spiritual practice that centers your mind around the truth that God has given us. 

Daily Devotional Verses  

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Use the S.O.A.P. method to reflect on the verses below. 

Scripture: Read the verses several times. Reading out loud can be helpful as well. 
Observation: What can you see about the scripture you read? 
Application: What is God wanting you to believe, do, or feel, based on what you have read? 
Prayer: This is a chance to talk to God about what you have read and ask him for help in living out what you’ve learned. 

Day 1: Hebrews 4:16 

Day 2: 1 Timothy 2:1-2 

Day 3: Mark 11:25 

Day 4: Psalm 141:2  

Day 5: 1 Peter 4:7 

Day 6: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18