Groups Discussion Guide
Read Scripture. Go Deeper. Ask Questions. Take Action.
The Promise of The Prompt
Scripture
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
Main Idea
Some of the greatest growth in your life begins with a willingness to ask, and asking is not only a principle for learning but a foundation of faith. As Jesus closes the Sermon on the Mount, He attaches His strongest promises to one simple command: ask. That is why prayer rests on three truths about how good our Father is:
- God doesn't need the information. He wants the invitation: He already knows your situation, so you ask to involve Him, not to inform Him.
- You don't have to explain your situation perfectly for God to understand it completely: prayer is not a performance, and He knows what you mean even when your words come out wrong.
- God is not worried that you will ask too much: His only concern is that you ask too little, so bring Him bold and honest requests.
With God there are no small prayers and there are no big problems.
Discussion Questions
- Jesus ties ask, seek, and knock to a promise that everyone who asks receives. Where in your life have you been trying to figure something out on your own instead of asking God?
- The message says God doesn't need the information but wants the invitation. What is one thing you have thought about, worried about, and even Googled, but never actually brought to God in prayer?
- Pastor Justin said prayer is not a presentation or a performance, and that God is not grading your grammar. How does knowing that take pressure off the way you pray?
- Where have you been shrinking your prayers because you were afraid of what the answer might be, and what would a bolder ask look like this week?
Summary
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus describes what it looks like to live in His kingdom, and near the end He gives one of the simplest instructions of all: ask. He does not tell us to earn it, perform, or say the right words. He gives a promise that everyone who asks receives, everyone who seeks finds, and everyone who knocks has the door opened. God already knows what we need before we ask, so we do not ask to inform Him but to invite Him into our lives. We also do not have to explain everything perfectly, because He knows the thought behind the thought and the fear beneath the frustration.
Prayer is not a presentation, and its power depends on how good our Father is, not on the eloquence of our words. A good father sometimes gives more than we ask, and sometimes withholds what we ask because He knows it is not best. That means we can pray big and bold prayers while trusting His goodness to do something great next. So whatever you have been carrying alone, ask God for it, and do not say no for Him before you have even asked.
Take Action
- This week, name one thing you have worried about and Googled but never actually prayed about, and bring it to God each morning.
- Make one bold and honest request of God this week that you have been shrinking, asking Him plainly for the thing you were afraid to ask.
- Pray John 16:23-24 slowly each day this week, asking the Father in Jesus' name for one desire and believing you will receive.
