Questions for Lord's Prayer Series: "Lord Teach Me to Pray"

Below are the covenant group questions for week three - "Our Father":

Read Matthew 6:9 and Ephesians 3:14-19

How do you understand the opening phrase of “Our Father?”  What does making the first word of prayer “our” mean for the way we are to understand the prayer?  

What are some ways earthly fathers fall short of what being a father is supposed to be about?  Some who’ve had less than a wonderful experience of their earthly father struggle with addressing God as Father with trust and warmth.  What would you say to a person who was vulnerable enough to share this problem with you?  

How might our prayers of intercession change if we kept the focus on “our” instead of “me and mine?”

In all of the prayers of Jesus he uses the familiar “abba” when addressing the Father in prayer.  How does this practice of feel close enough to God to call him “Daddy” affect our prayer? How does it guard against bad feelings about our heavenly Father?  

Note how in his Ephesians prayer, Paul lists petitions to the Father, Christ, and the Holy Spirit.  What does he ascribe to each?  Why might we be wise to bring our prayers to the fullness of the Trinity?

What does Paul mean by praying that the Ephesians “be filled with all the fullness of God.”  

The Lord’s Prayer has five themes:

• Praise and Worship
  
  
• Wanting God’s Best for this world
  
  
• Enough for living
  
  
• Restored Relationships
  
  
• Spiritual Victory
  
  

In closing use these five themes in your group prayer.