SESSION SUMMARY

Prayer is not a religious activity. It is a relationship to a Person, a two-way communication with holy, Almighty God. When you pray, you enter the throne room of heaven—the nerve center of the universe. You do not have to enter prayer alone. Christ and the Holy Spirit are intercessors with you. The Holy Spirit helps you know what to pray and how to pray. He guides your praying according to the will of God because He already knows what God wants to give you or to do in your life. His job is to guide your praying in that direction. Often the Holy Spirit will use Scripture to reveal truth, but truth is not a concept. Truth is a Person. When the Holy Spirit reveals truth, you adjust your life to God and obey Him. Your prayer life is one of the best indications of the health of your love relationship with the Father.

God used circumstances to reveal to Jesus what He was to do. Jesus paid attention to know where the Father wanted to involve Him in His work. God also will use circumstances to reveal His directions to you. However, you must check these against what God says through the Scriptures, prayer, and other Christians. Reviewing your spiritual markers is one way in which God may give you a sense of direction through your circumstances. When God is ready for you to take a new step or direction, it will be in agreement with what He has already been doing in your life.

Sometimes, you may find yourself in difficult or confusing circumstances. To understand these events, God's perspective is vital. Never determine the truth of your situation by focusing on the circumstances. You cannot know the reality of any situation until you have heard from God.

The Spirit also joins to help in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with unspoken groanings. And He who searches the hearts knows the Spirit's mind-set, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:26-27)

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

• What stood out or impacted you from the chapters?
• What has God been saying to you in your prayer times?
• Could it be that God is seeking to elevate your praying to a level He would be pleased to answer? How might God be leading you to pray?
• Have you been experiencing a period of silence from God? Why might God be withholding His Word?
• Are you in the midst of a confusing situation? How are you seeking God's perspective on it?
• Is God speaking to you through a circumstance in your life? What is He saying? How is that being confirmed by God's word, your times of prayer, and other believers?
• As you review your spiritual markers, do you see a clear direction God has been leading? What might that suggest about a current decision you are facing?

EXPERIENCING GOD TODAY

Spend some prayer time asking the Holy Spirit to direct your praying according to the Father's will. Have your notebook ready to record what He says.

Ask God to help you identify your own spiritual markers. These may begin with your heritage, your salvation experience, times you made significant decisions regarding your future, and so forth. What are some of the times of transition, decision, or direction in your life when you knew for sure that God guided you? Start developing a list of your own spiritual markers, but don't feel like it has to be comprehensive. Add to it as you reflect and pray about God's activity in your life.

*This content is a condensed and consolidated version ends of chapters 13 and 14. This is in no way original content to Fellowship Greenville. This content is from the book Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby, Richard Blackaby, and Claude King (copyright 2008). We are thankful for the use of the content and the impact it has had.