A Case for the Old Testament: The importance of prayer before beginning a Bible study

Next week we will be starting a new class: “A Case for the Old Testament, The History Continues…” One of the most important things we can do before starting, or continuing, a Bible study is to pray. As Christians, prayer is one of the four things we want to get good at, along with hermeneutics (Bible study in proper context), apologetics (defending the faith), and discipleship (sharing our faith, and doing life together).

Listen to Bobby Conway, the One Minute Apologist, talk about the importance of “bothering to pray!”

Growing as a Christian: Prayer

“I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” ― Martin Luther

Wow, how could Luther dedicate that much time? Sometimes it feels as if we are going so fast, trying to finish the daily tasks of life, that we don’t spend the needed time in prayer for our own Christian growth and ministry, and especially for that of others. Spiritual warfare is real and we have to acknowledge it.

A Christian speaker shared the time she went to visit a friend who was living and ministering in a rough part of an inner city where the crime rate was high. As she stood behind her friend, who was knocking on the door of a neighborhood brothel, she felt like an army troop clearing the spiritual area with a “machine gun of prayer” as her friend ministered. She dared not stop her weapon for the attack, she felt, was great. Do we do that for each other?

“Keep alert and pray. Otherwise temptation will overpower you. For though the spirit is willing enough, the body is weak!” –Matthew 26:41 (NLT)

Talking to God:

Being convicted and challenged about your prayer life, not sure if you’re doing it right or often enough, is a common concern for many Christians. What to do? We can go to the Bible! Here we find many examples of people “talking” to God and worshipping Him through prayer: Abraham (Genesis 12-22), Moses (Exodus-Deuteronomy), David (the Psalms), and the prophets all talked with God as He used them to speak His Words to the people of Israel. These are just a few examples from the Old Testament, but the best thing to do is to go to the person who was the fulfillment of all that was spoken of in the Old Testament and the one who taught us how to pray in the New Testament: Jesus!

Steven K. Scott has compiled all of Jesus’ words in a book called “The Greatest Words Ever Spoken.” What Jesus said about prayer and how He modeled it can be found in the Gospels of Matthew: 6:8-13, 11:25-26, 26:39, 27:46; Luke: 10:21, 22:42, 23:34, 23:46; and John: 11:41-43, 12:27-28, 17:1-26.

There is great comfort in what Jesus says, particularly in John 14, that we can take with us in prayer. At times when we don’t know what to say we can meditate on the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:5-15). One of Jesus’ greatest prayer examples is found in John chapter 17. This chapter can be broken down in to three segments: Jesus prays for Himself (1-5); Jesus prays for His Disciples (6-19); and Jesus prays for future believers (20-26), that’s us!

One of the most important things we can learn about prayer is that if we are praying in God’s will, and our prayers are lining up with His Word, we are bringing the outcome of our prayers in line with His Kingdom goal. However, we do not always see the “Kingdom goal” in all circumstances. God’s timing is not always our timing; patience and trust is key as we stay in bold persistent prayer.

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” 1 John 5:14 (NASB)

Finally, prayer develops our relationship with God and when we pray we grow closer to Him and are more likely to be aware of how He is working in our lives. Prayer is a very important part of our Christian walk and it is how we develop and maintain our relationship with Jesus. He is always beside us, ready to hold our hand through good times and bad.

Challenge: See the movie “War Room.” Spiritual warfare is real and if we don’t take that into account in our prayer lives then we are missing a big part of the battle. What can we do to build our own “War Room” (what might that look like in our home)?

Going Deeper

Watch this presentation by Pastor Greg Laurie called “How to (and not to) Pray”

Reflection

Read Ephesians 6:10-18. Write out the meaning of each piece of the armor and how we might use this passage in prayer.
Read John chapter 14. What are some things Jesus promises that we can take to prayer and find comfort in?
Read John chapter 17. What are some things that Jesus models that we can use in our own prayer life?
Write out a prayer to God using Scripture as you pray:

Bible Study

Always remember to pray before you study and ask the Holy Spirit to teach you and lead you into the truth found in God’s Word – pray for protection from the evil one who will try to discourage, distract and deceive us.

Read Genesis Chapter 33 through Chapter 36 – Then, to the best of your ability, answer the following questions. NOTE: The answers are found in the text (except for “Going Deeper”)

Jacob meets Esau; the treachery of Jacob’s sons; Jacob moves to Bethel; Esau moves

1. (Genesis 33:1-20) In this chapter Jacob finally reunites with Esau:

Describe what Jacob did when he saw Esau was coming.
How did Esau respond to Jacob’s gifts and presentation of his family?
Discuss: (Since the text doesn’t tell us) – Why you think Jacob implied that he was going to Seir to meet up again with Esau, but then stopped and settled in Shechem?

2. (Genesis 34:1-31) This chapter tells a side story about Jacob’s daughter Dinah, the people of Shechem and some of her brothers.

What happened to Dinah in this foreign land, and what did the leaders of that land hope to have happen with Jacob’s family?
How did Jacob’s sons respond to the request made by the father of Shechem, and what did they ultimately do?
Who were the two sons of Jacob that were responsible for this and what did their father say to them?
Discuss: What could Jacob, or his sons, have done differently to handle this situation?

3. (Genesis 35:1-21) In this chapter God tells Jacob to move to Bethel.

What did Jacob say to his household and what did he require them to do?
How did God protect them as they traveled?
What did God do and say to Jacob when he blessed him; and what does his new name mean?
What happened to Rachel?

4. (Genesis 35:22-29) There are now twelve sons of Israel.

What did the oldest son Reuben do that will later come back to bite him?
Keep in mind what the first three sons have done in these chapters – list the twelve sons and hi-light where Judah fits in the list (we will see a prophecy later on in this book).
How old was Isaac when he died, and who was there to bury him?

5. (Genesis 36:1-43) This chapter focuses mainly on Esau and his genealogy.

Why did Esau move away from his homeland and where did he go?
Discuss: Why did Esau move away and not Jacob; and how does this relate to the Covenant Promise and God’s sovereignty over all things?

Join us next week as we begin our new study: A Case for the Old Testament, The History Continues…

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You will not find this material in the public school curriculum even though it is based on solid evidence and grounded in research. It is ironic that following the evidence to where it leads stops at the door of our public schools as they will not let a “Divine footprint” in! Join us as we examine evidence for Christianity and learn how to become a thoughtful defender and ambassador of your faith.

Click into the resource page of this website to view many of the top Christian thinkers and apologists along with some of their work; connecting to these types of resources is essential in your Christian growth.

Please let me know what you think: Give feedback, ask questions or send concerns in the comment section of the blog.

Teri Dugan

TeriDugan@truthfaithandreason.com

1 Peter 3:15