Hiking in Your Presence/Voice of God
Discuss/Think About It
1.
Have you ever had to step out
of your comfort zone and try something new?
2.
How much does God care for
you? Do you ever not feel like God cares about you?
3.
Does God expect more from us
than just knowing he is there and accepting him?
4.
How often have you prayed and
waited for an answer?
5.
How many times are you looking
for quick answers to your prayers?
6.
Where do you think you should
find the answers to your prayers? Or should you just wait for God to give you
the answers?
Read: Ephesians 3:14-21
Verse 14:for this reason I
kneel before the Father, Verse 15:
from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name Verse 16: I pray that out of his
glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your
inner being, Verse 17 so that Christ
may dwell in your hearts through faith And I pray that you being rooted and
established in love Verse 18: may
have power together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high
and deep is the love of Christ, Verse
19: and to know this love that surpasses knowledge that you may be filled
to the measure of all the full ness of God. Verse 20: Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all
we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us; Verse 21: to him be glory in the church
and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Our Relationship With God
·
There are times in our
relationship with God, when we are just content to sit back and watch God do
his work.
·
We like to admire what God is
doing from a far
7.
Is this what God expects us to
do?
·
No!
·
We should enjoy God’s work,
but we should also try and be God’s work.
·
Meaning we should project
Christ’s image through us
What God Expects From Us
·
God wants more from us, than
just looking back and admiring him from a far.
8.
What do you think God wants
from us besides just admiring his creations?
·
He wants nothing short of the
best from us
·
This means being completely
wrapped up in his love
·
He calls us and brings us to
himself to experience his mercy and Grace
Viewing God
9.
How often do you feel like
your viewing God from a distance?
·
In reality, God is not at a
distance.
·
He is all around you and
always with you
·
No, more viewing God at a
distance, God brings us into his very presence.
Changing Perspective
10. Have you ever had to change the way you saw things, or get a new
perspective on a situation?
·
Sometimes, in order to see how
great he is, we need to see God from a new perspective and from a new
challenge.
·
This may mean we have to step
out of our comfort zone and go to places we’ve never been.
o
This could mean completing the
challenge I gave you a few weeks ago
o
It could also mean visiting
someone in the hospital or who is a shut in
o
It may be as simple as starting
a new Bible Study
· As I said two weeks ago, a lot of this may not be easy, but it is
what God expects from us.
· Now, let’s see how prayer can help us be closer to Christ.
Read: Proverbs 2:9-15
Verse 9: Then you will
understand what is right and just and fair every good path. Verse 10: For wisdom will enter your
heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Verse 11: Discretion will protect you and understanding will guard
you, Verse 12: Wisdom will save you
from the ways of wicked men, from whose words are perverse, Verse 13: who leave the straight paths
to walk in dark ways Verse 14: who
delight in doing wrong and rejoice in the perverseness of evil Verse 15: whose paths are crooked and
who are devious in their paths.
Prayer
·
Let’s look back at question
number 4
o
How often have you prayed and
waited for an answer?
·
I know I feel like I pray all
the time and never get an answer
11. Do you think we really don’t get an answer, or we don’t get the
answers we have been looking for?
·
There could also be the
problem of looking too deep into what God is trying to tell us
·
The answer could be right in
front of us, but we spend too much time looking into the details, that it makes
it hard to see the actual picture.
In His Time
·
Look back at the Bible passage
we just read
12. What do you think Proverbs 2: 9-15 is trying to say?
·
It means we shouldn’t be
praying for quick answers
·
We should believe that God has
an answer for us, and he will make it known in his own time.
Answers to Our Prayers
·
As I have said before, God has
a plan for your life.
·
He will always answer prayers,
but they may not be fast answers.
·
God is our Good Shepherd and
guides us on His path of righteousness
13. Is it possible that God will talk with us in such simple situations
and that the answers to life’s problems are no further than our Bible?
·
The answer to this question is
Yes
·
God will always answer
·
When you don’t think he is
answering you can always turn to your Bible to see what to do.
·
The Bible is God’s word, and
will also guide you on His path
Related Passage:
Romans
12:12
Verse 12: Be joyful in hope,
patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Mark 11:24
Verse 24: Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that
you have receive it, and it will be yours
1 John 3:22
Verse 22: and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.
This Week’s Challenge:
·
First, How many of you
completed the challenge I gave you a few weeks ago?
o
Remember: I asked you to
outreach to someone.
·
This week I want you to, when
you pray, not always look for the quick answers. Let God give you the answers in his own time.
Remember:
·
God cares for you a lot
·
He is all around us, so we
shouldn’t be viewing him from a distance
·
We should be completely
wrapped up in God’s love
·
When it comes to God, there
are no quick answers or solutions.
Silent Prayer Time
Write/or just
pray that God helps you see him from a different perspective. Also pray that he
helps you understand that there are no quick answers when it comes to prayer.
Tell him anything else you may have on your mind.
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