THREE THINGS TO KNOW
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GROUP VALUES. This month, we are focusing on PRAYER. We believe that prayer is a core part of the small group experience. A healthy small group not only opens the Bible together but also prays together. Prayer is a commitment to follow Jesus in the spiritual habits he modeled for us. It is also an opportunity to bear one another’s burdens and celebrations. We are halfway through our 50 Days of Prayer Challenge. Check in with each other as a group. How has the prayer challenge been going? There’s still time to commit or recommit to praying with us as a church for the last half of the challenge.
GROW AS A LEADER. This sermon series offers a great opportunity to introduce a simple prayer rhythm into your group time. Whether that’s opening or closing in prayer, sharing requests together, or encouraging members to pray for one another by name throughout the week, consistency matters more than length. If your group hasn’t made prayer a regular part of your meeting, this is a great week to start. Even a few minutes of shared prayer can significantly deepen community and trust.
SERMON DISCUSSION GUIDE
Welcome to the fourth week in our sermon series, POWERFUL PRAYERS. This week we examine King Solomon’s prayer of dedication at the temple and his model for how we can talk to God.
ICEBREAKER
Think about a time a recipe went wrong or a time you ate something and could tell a key ingredient was missing. What was it, and what happened?
THIS WEEK’S TEXT
Have someone read 1 Kings 8:22-30 aloud.
What is Solomon’s posture and tone as he begins his prayer?
What words or phrases stand out to you in this passage, and why?
What does this part of Solomon’s prayer show about God’s character?
THIS WEEK’S SERMON
In the fourth sermon of our POWERFUL PRAYERS series, Pastor Aaron focused on the elements found in King Solomon’s prayer of dedication for the temple. As a group, recall some of the sermon’s big ideas and main points.
Think about how prayer is portrayed in our culture—in movies, social media, or everyday conversations. What impressions do people often have about what prayer is or what it’s for?
Solomon begins his prayer with worship before he makes a single request. Why do you think worship tends to get left out when people pray?
Supplication is a plea for God’s grace and generosity. How does knowing that God’s disposition toward us is gracious and generous change the way we pray?
Confession is agreeing with God about your sin, and repentance is turning away from it and returning to him. What do confession and repentance look like in your life, and what could be a good step forward to practice these regularly?
When it comes to confessing sin to God, it can be easy to avoid it or rush through it. Share about a time when you honestly confessed something to God. What made it hard to get there, and what happened on the other side of it?
The ACTS prayer model (adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication) gives a framework for praying with depth and variety. Which element stretches you the most, and why?
What is one thing you could bring before God this week using one of the elements from Solomon’s prayer that you don’t normally include?
WRAP UP
This week, we explored how Solomon’s prayer of dedication included various essential ingredients such as adoration, supplication, and confession. What is your big takeaway from our discussion today?