The Lord's Prayer

Invite each family member to complete this sentence: "Prayer to me is more like ________________ than _____________."  Below are some pairs of words or phrases-have each person choose between them to describe what prayer is like.

Prayer to me is more like _____________ than _____________.

           a window      OR     a closet
              listening      OR     talking
  making a friend       OR     seeing an old friend
         hard work       OR     a time of rest
a journey inward      OR      a journey outward
           discipline       OR      fun

Does God Answer Prayer?

Read the following story aloud, and then use the questions to start a faith conversation.

A 17-year-old girl died after a "faith healer" prayed for her healing and her parents pulled the plug on her life support machines.  Against the wishes of the medical staff in the hospital, the parents of 17-year-old Debra Barker stopped her hospital respirator because they believed she was healed.  Debra had been in a coma for three days after a tragic accident in which she was thrown from her car.  Evidence showed the passengers of the car had been drinking.

Debra's pastor, Stephen Johnson, said that her parents asked Reverend Jesse Thomas, a faith healer who had just preached at their church, to come to the hospital to pray for their daughter.  Reverend Thomas, Pastor Johnson and Debra's parents entered the hospital room at approximately 1:00 in the afternoon.  After Reverend Thomas prayed for Debra, he said she was healed-he felt warmth flow through his hands onto her forehead.  Debra's parents, "in faith," pulled the plug to the respirator without the permission of the hospital staff.  Debra died 12 minutes later.

1.)  Was Reverend Thomas an evil man?  Why or why not?

2.)  Did Debra's parents make a mistake?

3.)  Where does faith come into the healing process?  Since the prayers were sincere, why didn't God heal Debra?

4.)  What lessons can we learn from this "news story"?

The Prayer of Relinquishment

Read the following story aloud, and then use the questions to start a faith conversation.

Far to often Christians act like the person in this story; "I would like to buy $3.00 worth of God, please.  Not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk or a snooze in the sunshine...I want ecstasy, not transformation; I want the warmth of the womb not a new birth.  I want a pound of the Eternal in a paper sack.  I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please."

1.)  What do you think of this story?

2.)  What do you think is the difference between wanting only a little bit of God and wanting to live completely for God?

3.)  List three areas of your life in which you need to be more surrendered to God.

Prayer: Communication with God

Read the following story aloud, and then use the questions to start a faith conversation.

As far as Regina Hammond is concerned, luck has little to do with it.  The 37-year-old flight attendant won $100,000 in a Colorado lottery game on top of the $50,000 she won the previous year the same way.  And she's not finished yet.  Her goal is the $1 million grand prize.  Hammond believes that prayer has paved her way to riches.  "I pray to God to help me and he answers," she says.

1. How does Regina Hammond's claim make you feel?
2. If prayer works, why don't all lottery players pray and win?
3. Do you think Hammond will win the million dollars?  Why or why not?
4. Should people pray to get rich?  To win sports events?  To be successful?  Why or why not?
5. Some people believe that lotteries are sinful.  If that's true, why would God answer Hammond's prayers to win?
6. Would you pray to win the lottery?  Why or why not?
7. Read each of the following items aloud.  Which of these is okay to pray for?  Why?

• An A on a test
• Lots of money
• Getting a job
• A better complexion
• Winning a game
• New clothes
• Not getting caught disobeying Mom or Dad
• Getting a date
• Losing or gaining weight