FACE-TO-FACE BIBLE STUDY SERIES
FACE-TO-FACE WITH
SARAH, RACHEL, AND HANNAH PLEADING
with
GOD
Five Sessions for Individuals, M&M’S (Mentors & Mentees, Friends, Family) or Groups Includes Leader’s Guide for Facilitators
JANET THOMPSON
BIRMINGHAM , ALABAMA
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New Hope® Publishers P. O. Box 12065 Birmingham, AL 35202-2065 www.NewHopeDigital.com New Hope Publishers is a division of WMU®. © 2011 by Janet Thompson All rights reserved. First printing 2011. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the prior written permission of the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Thompson, Janet, 1947Face-to-face with Sarah, Rachel, and Hannah : pleading with God : 5 sessions for individuals, M&M’s (mentors & mentees, friends, family) or groups : includes leader’s guide for facilitators / Janet Thompson. p. cm. -- (Face-to-face Bible study series) ISBN 978-1-59669-321-0 (sc) 1. Christian women--Religious life--Textbooks. 2. Prayer--Biblical teaching--Textbooks. 3. Sarah (Biblical matriarch) 4. Rachel (Biblical matriarch) 5. Hannah (Biblical figure) I. Title. BV4527.T474 2011 222’.110071--dc23 2011042210 All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked The Message are taken from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations taken from the Contemporary English Version: Copyright © 1995 American Bible Society. Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from The Holy Bible, King James Version. Used by permission. ISBN-10: 1-59669-321-5 ISBN-13: 978-1-59669-321-0 N124128
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DEDICATED WITH LOVE To My daughters, Kim and Shannon, who pleaded with God and didn’t lose hope in His purpose or His plan for their families.
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Table of Contents WELCOME My Story ......................................................................................6 What Is Mentoring? ...................................................................6 Who Are M&M’S? ......................................................................8 M&M’S and More! ....................................................................8 Study Format ..............................................................................9 Suggestions for Individual Study ............................................10 Suggestions for M&M’S—Mentors & Mentees, Friends, and Relatives ..............................................................10 Suggestions for Group Study ..................................................10 Leaders and Facilitators ...........................................................10 To You—The Reader ...............................................................10 SESSION ONE: THEIR STORY Can You Relate? .......................................................................14 Day One: How Do Sarah’s, Rachel’s, and Hannah’s Stories Relate to Us? ...............................................16 Day Two: Pleading with God ..................................................19 Day Three: “Why?” ..................................................................22 Day Four: Prayerful Petition ...................................................25 Day Five: I Won’t Give Up! ....................................................30 SESSION TWO: GOING AHEAD OF GOD Day One: My Way Versus God’s Way ....................................36 Day Two: Fearing God’s Plan ..................................................40 Day Three: Taking Matters into Our Own Hands ................43 Day Four: Others Don’t Understand ......................................48 Day Five: I’m Desperate ..........................................................51
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SESSION THREE: BARGAINING WITH GOD Day One: Let’s Make a Deal ...................................................56 Day Two: Negotiating ..............................................................59 Day Three: What About Me? ..................................................62 Day Four: Trying to Outsmart God ........................................65 Day Five: Intercede Instead ....................................................69 SESSION FOUR: WAITING ON GOD Day One: When God Goes Silent ...........................................74 Day Two: Unbearable Loneliness ............................................77 Day Three: Can You Hear Me Now? .....................................81 Day Four: In God’s Perfect Time ............................................86 Day Five: Patient Perseverance ...............................................89 SESSION FIVE: MAKING PEACE WITH GOD Day One: Finding Purpose ......................................................96 Day Two: Recognizing God’s Plan ........................................100 Day Three: Replacing Worry with Worship .........................104 Day Four: Turning Pleas into Praises! ..................................108 Day Five: Your Will Be Done ...............................................113 A Pleading with God Testimony—Vanessa Bruce Ingold ....118 CLOSING MATERIALS Turning Pleas into Praises.......................................................122 Let’s Pray a Closing Prayer Together ....................................122 Leader’s Guide for Group-Study Facilitators and M&M’S ..124 Prayer & Praise Journal .........................................................136
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WELCOME My Story I began taking steps to start the Woman to Woman Mentoring Ministry while at my home church, Saddleback Church, in Lake Forest, California, pastored by Rick Warren. “Feed My sheep” was God’s call and challenge to me to go into full-time ministry. God quickly revealed that feeding was mentoring and the sheep were women in churches all over the world. In obedience to the call, I launched the ministry in my home in January 1996, and we quickly outgrew my living room. After receiving numerous requests from other churches wanting to know how to start this type of a ministry, I authored Woman to Woman Mentoring, How to Start, Grow, and Maintain A Mentoring Ministry DVD Leader Kit (LifeWay Press). As I traveled throughout the United States and Canada, training and speaking on mentoring, I heard numerous requests for a Bible study depicting God’s plan for mentors and mentees—“M&M’S,” as we fondly call them. One morning, as my husband completed his quiet time with the Lord, Dave asked me if I had ever considered writing Bible studies based on mentoring relationships in the Bible. He knew that many M&M’S enjoy doing a Bible study together, and Dave felt that one focused on what God says about mentoring relationships would help answer many of the M&M’S questions. After much prayer––and my husband’s prodding––I decided to look in the Bible to see how many mentoring relationships I could find. Before long, I had discovered 12. This was my confirmation to begin writing the “Face-to-Face” Bible study series (formerly known as Mentoring God’s Way). My passion and life mission is to help one generation of believers connect to the next generation and pass down God’s plan for the Christian life. I trust that the “Face-to-Face” Bible study series will help you do exactly that.
What Is Mentoring? I love Dee Brestin’s depiction of the informality of mentoring in The Friendships of Women Workbook: “It’s not to be a dependent relationship, but simply a friendship as you spend time with a woman who is further down the road, at least in some areas of her Christian life. Win 6
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Couchman says, ‘Mentoring works very nicely over a cup of coffee.’ ” For those who like more concrete and specific definitions, Roget’s Super Thesaurus provides this explanation of the root word of mentoring. It defines mentor as a teacher, guide, coach, or advisor. Most dictionaries define the word mentor as a trusted and wise counselor. To combine Dee’s and the reference definitions with the Christian perspective: a Christian mentor is a spiritually mature woman who is a trusted and wise teacher, guide, coach, counselor, advisor, and friend. Thus, a mentee is someone willing to be taught, guided, coached, advised, or counseled by a trusted, wise, and spiritually older woman friend. Christian mentoring is sharing with another woman the many wonders you have seen God do in your life, and assuring her that He will do them in her life, too, as you both discover God’s purpose and plan for your lives together. Mentoring is not a hierarchy; it’s always a two-way, mutually beneficial relationship where both participants learn from each other. Chris Tiegreen, author of my favorite devotional, The One-Year Walk with God Devotional, reminds us why it is always better to seek God’s ways together. The Bible gives us solid wisdom on which to base our lives. But while it is absolute, its interpretation can vary widely. That’s where advice comes in. Never underestimate the body of Christ. He has crafted us to live in community. Wisdom usually comes not to godly individuals but to godly fellowships. Are you seeking direction? Know your heart, but do not trust it entirely. Measure it by biblical wisdom and the counsel of those who follow it well. —June 27 devotional The Bible also clearly instructs men to mentor men and women to mentor women. Titus 2:1–8 is the traditional “mentoring” passage. You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine. Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance. Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. Similarly, encourage the young men welcome
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to be self-controlled. In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us. First Peter 5:2–4 (NLT) could be addressing mentors. Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example. And when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor. A mentor doesn’t need to be an expert on the Bible or God, and she doesn’t need to have a perfect life. If that were the case, none of us would qualify. A mentor simply needs to be willing to share her life experiences with another woman and be an example and role model of how a Christian woman does life. And how do we learn to be a godly role model? Answer: “Remember your leaders who taught you the word of God. Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and follow the example of their faith” (Hebrews 13:7 NLT). Mentoring is not doing a ministry: It is being a godly woman who follows the Lord’s command: “One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts” (Psalm 145:4).
WHO ARE M&M’S? In the Woman to Woman Mentoring Ministry, we lovingly refer to mentors and mentees as “M&M’S”—no, that’s not the candy, although we always have M&M’s® candy at our events. And just like the candy, there are varieties of M&M relationships—no two are the same. M&M’S may be: friends, acquaintances, family members, workers, neighbors, members of a mentoring or other ministry, team members, women with similar life experiences, or any two women who want to grow spiritually together.
M&M’S AND MORE! The “Face-to-Face” Bible study series has a variety of applications. You can enjoy this study in these ways: 8
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On your own As a mentor and mentee (M&M’S) in a mentoring or discipleship relationship Between two friends Between two relatives As a small or large group studying together As a churchwide Bible study The Bible studies offer these three types of questions: On Your Own—questions for doing the study individually M&M’S—questions for mentors and mentees, two friends, or relatives studying together On Your Own and M&M’s—questions applicable to both individuals and those studying together Groups answer all the questions, with a Leader’s/Facilitator’s Guide in each book.
STUDY FORMAT There are five main sessions, comprised of five study days. Each day’s study includes: Scriptures and questions for you to study and answer Face-to-Face Reflections—a discussion of the day’s topic Personal Parable—a story depicting and applying the day’s topic Mentoring Moment—takeaway wisdom for the day At the end of each session there is: Faith in Action—an opportunity for life application of the lessons learned Let’s Pray Together—my prayer of agreement with you Following session five are Closing Materials: ♦ Let’s Pray a Closing Prayer Together ♦ Janet’s Suggestions—ideas for further study ♦ Leader’s Guide for Group-Study Facilitators and M&M’S ♦ Session Guide ♦ Prayer & Praise Journal
welcome
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SUGGESTIONS FOR INDIVIDUAL STUDY I admire you for seeking out this study on your own and having the desire and discipline to work on it by yourself. I like to grow in the knowledge of the Lord and His Word and have found that my most relevant insights from God come when I seek Him by myself in a quiet place. Have fun on your own, and share with someone all you are learning. 1. A good way to stay consistent in your studying is to work a little each day, during your quiet time in the morning or evening. 2. Tell someone you have started this study, and ask him or her to keep you accountable to complete it.
SUGGESTIONS FOR M&M’S— MENTORS AND MENTEES, FRIENDS, AND RELATIVES I hope the study of Face-to-Face with Sarah, Rachel, and Hannah: Pleading with God adds a new dimension to your M&M relationship. Here are a few study tips: 1. Come to your meetings prepared to discuss your answers to the session’s questions. 2. Or, you may decide to answer the questions together during your meetings. 3. If you don’t live close, have phone or online discussions. 4. Remember, the questions are to enlighten and not divide; be honest and open as well as loving and kind.
SUGGESTIONS FOR GROUP STUDY I love group studies because you get to hear other people’s points of view, and lasting friendships often develop. Your meetings should be fun, informative, relevant, and applicable to group members’ lives. Enjoy yourself with your fellow sisters in Christ, but remember that joining a group study does mean commitment. So please attend your scheduled meetings unless there is a real emergency. I suggest the following courtesies: 1. Put the meeting dates on your calendar.
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2. Commit to doing your study and come prepared for the discussion. This honors the rest of the group, and you will get so much more from the sessions. 3. Ask questions––quite often, someone else has the same question. 4. Participate in the discussion, but be cautious of dominating the conversation. For example, if you have answered several questions, even though you know all the answers, let someone else have a turn. Try to encourage a less outgoing member to share. 5. Listen when others speak and give each speaker your full attention. 6. Arrive on time. 7. Keep in confidence the information shared in the group.
LEADERS AND FACILITATORS When I lead and facilitate Bible-study groups, I value a complete and detailed Leader’s Guide, so that is what I have provided for you. The “Face-to-Face” Bible study series has a Leader’s Guide at the end of each book to provide the leader/facilitator with creative ideas for the following: 1. Guiding group discussion 2. Adding life application and variety to the sessions 3. Accommodating the varied learning styles of the group (visual learners, hands-on learners, auditory learners, and more)
TO YOU—THE READER Whatever way you are doing this study, God has a message and a lesson just for you. Here are some suggestions I pray will enhance your experience studying Face-to-Face with Sarah, Rachel, and Hannah. 1. Start each session with prayer and ask the Lord to speak to you through the Scripture readings, the prayerful answering of the questions, and the interaction with others. 2. Set your own pace. I provide breaking points, but make it comfortable for yourself and break as you need to do so. 3. If you’re not sure how to answer a question, move on, but continue praying and thinking about the answer. Often my answers come quickly, but God’s answers are the most fruitful. welcome
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4. Unless otherwise indicated, all the questions relate to NIV Bible passages. Lists of Scriptures are sequential, as they appear in the Bible. You will be looking up Scripture references in your Bible— an invaluable way to study and learn about the Bible. 5. Use the space provided to answer questions, but don’t feel obligated to fill the space. However, if you need more room, continue answering in a separate journal. 6. A book effectively used for study should be underlined, highlighted, and comments written in the margins, so interact with this material in that way. 7. At the end of session five, you will find suggestions from me on books to read or activities to complete, to delve deeper into what God may be teaching you about the biblical M&M relationship featured in Sarah, Rachel, and Hannah. 8. Use the Prayer & Praise Journal starting on page 136 to record the mighty work God does in your life during this study. Journal prayer requests, and note when God answers. 9. Have some chocolate. After reading about M&M’S throughout the study, you’ll be ready for some candy! My heart, admiration, and encouragement go out to you with this book. I pray that mentoring becomes a vital part of your life. The “Face-to-Face” Bible study series is another way the Lord allows me to “feed My sheep.” And I hope that you will enjoy this and other “Face-to-Face” Bible studies and “feed” others as well. About His Work,
Janet
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SESSION ONE FACE-TO-FACE WITH SARAH, RACHEL, AND HANNAH: PLEADING WITH GOD
THEIR STORY
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Can You Relate? —As told by Dr. Ralph D. Westfall other, don’t do it!” Mother had threatened suicide two weeks before, but I had talked her out of it. Hoping she would put down the pills again this time, I pleaded, “You promised!” Glancing out the window at people strolling by, my mother said, “They don’t care.” She pushed handfuls of red and white capsules into her mouth. I screamed and hit her again and again, but she wouldn’t stop. When the ambulance finally arrived, the attendants put Mother in back. “Ride up here,” they said. The ambulance roared with flashing lights. I slumped down, hoping no one would see me or know what Mother had done. I was only nine years old, but they left me alone in the deserted waiting room. I kept thinking, “Why did she? She said she wouldn’t.” An hour later, the doctor came. “Doris, your mother had a lot of bruises. Was someone hitting her?” Tears welled up and spilled down my cheeks. In a choked voice I said, “I didn’t want her to eat those pills.” After another suicide attempt when I was in college and one while she was living with my family, the relationship with Mother deteriorated. We had no contact for 14 years, but she was still much in our family’s thoughts. Every night when my husband, Hugh, and I prayed at bedtime, he prayed for my mother and pleaded with God for reconciliation. But I couldn’t pray for that. I later admitted, “I hoped your prayers wouldn’t be answered.”
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At the age of 92, my mother suffered a stroke. Her friends told us she wanted to see me in the convalescent hospital. Although I dreaded the thought, I knew I had to go. When I came, Mother said, “I’m sorry for all the pain I caused.” My emotions were churning. I hesitated. Eventually I said, “Let’s not worry about the past.” She was different; she was happy. I prayed with her and read the Bible almost every day until she passed away. God was so gracious. He made it possible for me to reconcile with my mother, and for my children with their grandmother. Jesus said, “If you have faith and do not doubt . . . you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done” (Matthew 21:21). Reconciling with my mother seemed harder than that. Although I had hoped He wouldn’t, God did answer Hugh’s pleading prayers. God can change human hearts and heal terribly broken relationships, even in a seemingly “hopeless case.” Thank You, Lord! (Names have been changed.)
session one
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Day One How Do Sarah’s, Rachel’s, and Hannah’s Stories Relate to Us? e all have times of pleading with others to do what we want them to do and of pleading with God to do what we want Him to do. In this study, we’ll look at the pleadings of Sarah, Rachel, and Hannah.
On Your Own and M&M’S
Q: Read each woman’s story: Sarah—Genesis 11:29–31; 16:1–8; 17:15–21; 18:5–15; 21:1–12; 22:1–18 Rachel—Genesis 29–33; 35:16–19; 46:19; Ruth 4:11 Hannah—1 Samuel 1, 2
Q: Fill in who each woman pleaded with, how she pleaded, and why. Sarah
Rachel
Hannah
Who? How? Why?
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Q: Explain
how you’ll apply this study to an issue that’s had you pleading with God:
M&M’S
Q: Discuss
how God might want you to apply this study to your M&M relationship.
Face-to-Face Reflections Prayers can metamorphose into begging God to perform in a way we think is best. Even a woman of strong faith can experience a crisis of faith when life doesn’t turn out as she expects and she knows God could intervene on her behalf. In Face-to-Face with Sarah, Rachel, and Hannah: Pleading with God, we’ll explore the varied issues in life that lead to pleading with God and ways we might react when He doesn’t immediately respond or we don’t like His answer. The goal will be learning to rest in God’s sovereignty and wait on His timing.
Personal Parable I know the burning anguish of pleading with God and the fear that He might not fulfill my pleas the way I want. For years, I pleaded with God for my daughter Kim’s salvation as I watched her moving further and further away from Him. But in God’s perfect timing, He answered my pleas beyond my wildest dreams, and eventually Kim returned to God and to me. When Kim later married, both she and my stepdaughter Shannon suffered infertility. They tell their story of pleading with God, along with 45 other couples, in Dear God, Why Can’t I Have a Baby? A Companion Guide for Couples on the Infertility session one
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Journey. As with Sarah, Rachel, and Hannah, God’s answer to their pleas wasn’t what any of the couples expected or in the time frame they wanted, but for many His answer involved miracles only He could have orchestrated.
Mentoring Moment God is sovereign and we are not!
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Day Two Pleading with God Most of us can think of a time when we were too proud or stubborn to plead.
On Your Own and M&M’S
Q: After reading each woman’s pleas in day one, what are the— Similarities
Differences
Sarah Rachel Hannah
Q: List situations where someone might plead with God: Plead with someone else:
Q: Who did Rachel plead with before she pleaded with God (Genesis 30:1–2)?
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Why does the Bible tell us to plead with God rather than man (Matthew 19:26)?
Q: Describe a personal dire circumstance. Who did you first plead with for resolution or intervention?
Q: Who did you recently plead with for something you really wanted? Q: Is your first request usually to God or to “man” and why? Q: Do you relate the most to Sarah, Rachel, or Hannah? M&M’S
Q: Spend time discussing and praying over your answers above. You may have relived unpleasant experiences and it helps to talk and pray about them together.
Face-to-Face Reflections The doctor called with bad news. Your child is making foolish choices. Your husband lost his job or is leaving you. Grown children move grandchildren far away or aren’t coming home for Christmas. You want a new couch . . . a new car . . . a new life. There’s an endless list of wants, desires, and pleas. The ideal would be to inquire of God, “Do You want my request fulfilled? If so, please take care of it in Your timing.” In reality, we often first turn to something or someone else we think will: take care of matters faster, have an immediate impact on the situation, or give us the answer we want sooner than God will intervene. Or we decide not to bother God with the minor things—we’ll save the major crises for Him and take care of daily concerns ourselves. How much easier and peaceful our lives would be if our first pleas were to God to have His will and His way in every aspect of our lives. 20
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Personal Parable Story of Pat Stockett Johnston’s pleas to God: “I want out, God. Take my missionary call away.” I never imagined a time would come when I’d ask God to release me from my call to be a missionary. During that afternoon missionary service 18 years ago, God’s call had been so specific, aimed straight at me. His words are stuck in my memory forever: I want your children to sing in a foreign language. I’d been faithful to that call. Sixteen years later, after a missionary career that included assignments in Lebanon, Jordan, and Papua New Guinea, our four children could all sing in at least one foreign language. Our older daughter could sing in seven languages. However, languages weren’t the reason I wanted out. I was tired of the unsettled life of a missionary. We were back in the States for home leave, living in a rented home two blocks from my mom and dad. All four children had finally settled into new schools—always a stressful process in our one-year home leave. I loved teaching second grade in a private Christian school nearby. Last year on the field, we’d sent one daughter to a university 12,000 miles from our place of residence. Looming in the future was the repeat of that experience three more times. “Lord, we’re comfortable here. Please take my missionary call away,” I begged.
Mentoring Moment If the request is wrong, God says: No. If the timing is wrong, God says: Slow. If you are wrong, God says: Grow. But if the request is right, the timing is right, and you are right, God says Go! —Pastor Bill Hybels session one
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Day Three “Why?” hile crying out to God, eventually we all ask: (A) Why me? (B) Why is this happening? (C) If You can do all things, why don’t You stop my pain or change the circumstance?
On Your Own and M&M’S
Q: Designate the “Why?” of the biblical character(s) in each passage below as category A, B, or C (from above). Name
A, B, or C
Exodus 3:10–12; 5:22 Numbers 11:20 Judges 6:13 Ruth 1:21 Psalm 22:16 Matthew 27:46
Q: Read Job 2:9–10. Note if their question was inquiring or accusing. Job’s wife (v. 9): Job (v. 10): How does perspective change with an inquiring versus an accusing “Why?”
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Q: Describe Job’s attitude as circumstances worsened (Job 3:11–26). What was God’s response (Job, chaps. 38 and 39)?
Q: After listening to God, how did Job’s heart change? Fill in the blanks of Job 42:1–3: Then Job replied to the Lord: “I know that you can do ; no purpose of yours can be thwarted. You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not , things too for me to know.”
Q: What is the best way to discover the answer to “Why?” (Genesis 25:21–22)? How did God answer Rebekah’s “Why?” (Genesis 25:23)?
Q: Describe
a “Why, God?” occurrence. Were you inquiring or
accusing?
What was His answer?
M&M’S
Q: If either of you are in a “Why?” scenario, help each other prayerfully turn that question around to “Why not?”
Face-to-Face Reflections When I was diagnosed with breast cancer and experienced two recurrences six and nine years later, each time my first thought was, “Why, God? How can I write and speak for You if You take me now?” As I continued questioning God, He asked me a jolting question, “Why session one
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not you?” Why didn’t I think God could bring good out of this terrible situation? I still wasn’t happy about having breast cancer, but God did change my focus to look for how He was going to use it for His glory. Out of my breast cancer experience came the book, Dear God, They Say It’s Cancer: A Companion Guide for Women on the Breast Cancer Journey. Now I’m able to minister to women with breast cancer and recurrences that God puts in my path. Job’s response to his wife is the answer to all our “Whys?”—“We take the good days from God—why not also the bad days?” (Job 2:10 The Message).
Personal Parable Shared by Laura Petherbridge, author of When “I Do” Becomes “I Don’t”: I’ve had many times of pleading with God, but the one that stands out in my mind the most is when my husband walked out of our marriage for another woman. I begged God to bring him back, but that didn’t happen. I was a baby Christian and didn’t understand: If God hates divorce, why didn’t He do something to fix this? I almost took my life, but that journey caused me to cling to Christ for my sanity, breath, and day-to-day living. For the past 20 years, God has used me to help others in a divorce recovery ministry. I begged, but God wasn’t going to manipulate or strong arm my former spouse to stay married if he wanted the other woman instead. God is a gentleman. He lets us make choices—good and bad.
Mentoring Moment “God marks across some of our days, Will explain later.” —Vance Havner 24
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Day Four Prayerful Petition rayer is how we communicate with God and often our prayers take the form of a petitioning plea. Synonyms for plead are: beg, appeal, implore, beseech, entreat, solicit, pray, supplicate, petition. These are all ways Scripture says to come before the Lord.
On Your Own and M&M’S
Q: In
the following Scripture passages note these details: Who is pleading with God? What term indicates “plea”? What’s the reason for the plea? How did God answer? Person Pleading
Term Used
Reason
God’s Answer
Genesis 30:3, 6 Deuteronomy 3:23–29 1 Samuel 1:5-10,15–16 1 Kings 8:54–56 2 Chronicles 33:11–14 Ezra 8:21–23, 31–32 Daniel 9:1–3, 17–23 Matthew 8:5–13 Luke 8:40–56 John 4:46–54
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Q: Read Psalm 120:1–2. God always answers prayers and petitions, but what can we determine from the above examples?
Q: How do we miss opportunities for God to bless us with what we desire (John 16:24)? List what stops us from prayerfully petitioning God: Why do we doubt God could answer our petitions (Genesis 18:10–15)?
Q: What will impede our petitions (Mark 6:5–6)? How should we approach God (Hebrews 4:16)?
Q: Read Ephesians 6:18 and 2 Thessalonians 1:11. When should we petition God? About what? For whom? What is the prompt to pray?
Q: Even though Hannah was not promised a child like the other two women, compare her faith in the prayer found in 1 Samuel 1:10– 16 with the disbelief of Sarah and Rachel: What does this tell you about Hannah’s character? Describe a time you poured out your soul to the Lord (v. 15):
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Q: What heart’s desires could you forfeit by not prayerfully petitioning God and believing in faith that He will answer?
On Your Own
Q: If you haven’t accepted Jesus into your heart to experience the kind of faith that petitions God in prayer and believes He will answer, and would like to do so now, pray the Salvation Prayer on page 28. It’s a petition God will answer immediately with a welcome into His family!
M&M’S
Q: Mentee,
if you haven’t accepted Jesus into your heart, are you ready to pray with your mentor the Salvation Prayer on page 28? If you have doubts about how God answers prayer, discuss them with your mentor.
Face-to-Face Reflections In The One Year Worship the King Devotional, Chris Tiegreen offers sage advice for how to approach God with the right motives: If your prayers are filled with your concerns and little else, try a different approach. Pray that God would glorify Himself by meeting your needs, delivering you, healing you, comforting you, or whatever you are asking for. That perspective keeps us from deifying ourselves and from becoming completely selfabsorbed. It turns our attention to the One who is worthy of it. Ask Him to glorify His name in you. Don’t let your petitions become solely a list of wants and desires. Instead consider the needs of others, use prayer as a weapon against Satan, and most importantly, to glorify God.
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Salvation Prayer Dear Jesus, I know that I have sinned in my life, and I want to tell You how sorry I am. I ask You now to forgive me and cleanse me of those sins. Jesus, I want You to come into my heart and take residence there. I believe You are the Son of God and that You died on the Cross to pay the price for my sins and then rose again in three days to offer me eternal life. I trust in You and receive eternal life right now. Jesus, I give You complete control of my life, and I willingly surrender my heart, mind, and soul to You. Please fill me with the Holy Spirit and Your love. Lord, I give You my life—make me a new creation in You. In Your Son Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
Now read John 3:16 and insert your name in the blanks: “For God so loved that he gave His one and only Son, that if believes in Him, shall not perish, but have eternal life.” Welcome to the family of God! God just wiped away your past sins and gave you a clean slate: A new life in Christ. Congratulations! Celebrate and tell others about the decision you just made to become a follower of Jesus Christ—it’s your testimony. Now you’re ready to grow and mature spiritually and this study will have so much more meaning to you. You go, girl!
Personal Parable Pleading mother Gari Meacham, author of Truly Fed, shares her petitioning story: I believe in prayer like I believe in breathing. Although I consider myself committed to prayer, there have been a few times in my life that prayer wasn’t strong enough to wrap itself around my heart’s cries to God. My prayers were more like pleading.
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My oldest daughter had entered college and was suffering a trauma. As she tried to deal with shattering memories and unwanted fear, she turned to alcohol and cutting to lessen the pain trapped inside her. I thought I would lose my mind. For the next few years, every time I tried to pray for her, I could see her only as she was—lonely, defeated, abusive, and injured. One day as I was praying, God sent a message to my heart: Do you really believe I’m God? Do you really believe I’m bigger than your heartache and fear? I stuttered a response back to Him, realizing I wasn’t believing, just reacting. Over the next few days, I began to plead with God in a way I hadn’t before. “Please, Lord, I do believe You can heal. I do believe You rip through destruction and replace it with glory. I beg You to rip through my daughter . . .” I wish I could say that things changed overnight, but they didn’t. I did. I picked several verses to pray faithfully around my new vision of what I hoped my daughter would become. I knew my prayer life would never be the same when a year later I heard my daughter say, “Mom, you never saw me how I was. You always believed me to be something better!” And better she was. She got a great job, worked hard, and began to attend a wonderful church. She walked alongside young girls in a Bible study, and a local magazine featured her story—impacting people with its honesty and hope. The pleading process impacted me in a way that has forever changed my prayer life. I don’t always plead, sometimes I simply petition— but I know that when I plead, God listens.
Mentoring Moment “Even in our deepest crises, our prayers should be God-centered.” —Chris Tiegreen, The One Year Worship the King Devotional
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Day Five I Won’t Give Up! oth Sarah and Rachel lost hope and succumbed to circumventing God and taking matters into their own hands, which we’ll look at more closely in Session Two. But Hannah never gave up on God and continued to plead persistently.
On Your Own and M&M’S
Q: How do the following verses encourage us to keep petitioning, pleading, and praying? Luke 11:5–13 Luke 18:1–8 1 Thessalonians 5:17
Q: What impact can our prayerful pleas have? Matthew 21:21–22 James 5:16
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Q: How does God reward perseverance? Galatians 6:9 Hebrews 10:35–36 James 1:12; 5:11
Q: Read Hebrews 11:24–28. What kept Moses persevering when he probably wanted to give up? What does faith give us (Hebrews 10:19–22)?
Q: Read Matthew 26:36–45. How many times did Jesus plead with God in the Garden of Gethsemane? What was God’s answer (v. 45)? What did Jesus do anyway (v. 46)?
Q: In Session One, Day One, you identified something you’re pleading with God about. If you’re ready to give up, how does today’s lesson encourage you to “hang in there”?
Have you asked others to help you persevere? (Hebrews 10:23– 25)? If so, how has it helped?
If not, why?
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On Your Own
Q: Describe
the consequences of giving up on God solving past
problems. If you didn’t give up, what kept you trusting God?
M&M’S
Q: Have you considered giving up on your relationship with each other? With God? If so, pray for God to restore your faith in Him and in each other. Commit today that you’ll finish this study together.
Face-to-Face Reflections The Contemporary English Version of Ephesians 6:18 summarizes today’s lesson: “Never stop praying, especially for others. Always pray by the power of the Spirit. Stay alert and keep praying for God’s people.” Don’t be afraid to keep asking if the request stays on your heart. Jesus asked three times to have the cup taken from him. Ask with sincerity. Ask with honesty. Primarily, ask with believing faith that God is always acting in your best interests, regardless of how the situation appears, how long His response takes, or the nature of His final answer.
Personal Parable LeAnn Weiss-Rupard, author of Hugs books, didn’t give up: My church was having a time of sharing about targeting prayer for unsaved friends. The leader, Joe, asked us to think of our favorite foods or drinks. Mine was definitely ice cream: I was a three-bowl-a-day girl! 32
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Next, Joe asked us to think of someone we’d been praying for his or her salvation for an extended period without a breakthrough. I immediately thought of Roger. I’d been praying for him for years. Joe shared that his friend had fasted from coffee for six months, praying for Joe’s salvation. Then Joe asked us to consider making a commitment to fast from our favorite food or drink until our friend accepted Christ. The goal was to use our desire to eat that food to remind us to pray for our friend’s salvation. I wasn’t thrilled about giving up ice cream for six months; but miraculously, I made it. At one point, I was praying so frequently I lost my desire for ice cream, but I prayed for God to return my craving as a reminder to pray for others’ salvation. As I shared my ice-cream fast with others, they asked me to pray for their loved ones, too—my list kept growing. I’ve petitioned God for Roger and others three times a day for 14 plus years, and more times when I bravely ventured down the grocery store ice-cream aisle. I’m not legalistic and I know that not eating ice cream won’t save my friend—salvation is God’s job. Roger still hasn’t come to God as far as I know, but I have no doubt He’ll be in heaven one day, even if it’s a last-minute conversion. But several others on my prayer list have come to a saving grace.
Mentoring Moment “Nothing great was ever done without much enduring.” —Catherine of Siena
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Faith in Action What one thing from this session does God want you to apply in your life today?
Let’s Pray Together Lord, we want to be confident women of prayer who turn to You before we turn to solutions the world offers. Assist us with this quest. Holy Spirit, convict us when issues arise and we haven’t stopped to pray, or when we feel like giving in or giving up. We know that we can do all things through Jesus Christ, the “author and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). Help us to follow His example of pleading with conviction and perseverance, and to accept Your answer, no matter what the cost. To God be the glory for the things You will do through those of us who put our faith in You. Amen.
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