You Are What You Love
Intercession & Collect
Connection
Make sure to spend some time catching up with one another and share your highs and lows of the week.
Worship
Bible
Context: in Paul's first letter to Timothy, we see in this passage that he is offering guidance on how to conduct Christian worship. Here, Paul focuses on prayer, urging believers to not only pray for themselves but to pray more widely for others. Finally, for people to be bold in their prayers so that others may come to know that it is Jesus who saves.
Praying Urgently:
Paul highlights the importance of urgent and sincere prayer, breaking it down into petitions, general prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving.
1) When you reflect on your own prayer habits, which of these areas feels the least natural or most difficult to engage with authentically and regularly?
2) What's a small, practical step you could commit to this week to bring more urgency and sincerity to that particular kind of prayer?
Praying Widely:
Paul urges us to extend our prayers beyond our personal needs to include "kings and all those in authority," reflecting God's desire for all people to be saved.
3) How does this outward focus on prayer challenge or change your perspective on who and what you should be praying for?
4) What practical steps can our group or individual members take to more intentionally "pray widely" in the coming week?
Praying Boldly:
Paul highlights Jesus as the true mediator, giving us confidence to approach God boldly in prayer.
5) Considering the examples and encouragement in this passage, what hesitations or insecurities might prevent us from praying with greater boldness?
6) What aspect of Jesus's role as our mediator – His ongoing intercession, His sacrifice as ransom, or the access He grants us to the Father – most inspires you to pray more boldly, and how can we practically cultivate that boldness in our personal and collective prayer lives?
Prayer
Why not practise together, praying more urgently, widely and boldly as a Life Group.