Supplication
๐ช๐๐ฅ๐ ๐จ๐ฃ
โข How often do you speak with the friend youโre closest with?ย
โข Whatโs one thing you canโt stop talking about recently? Why do you talk about it so much?
โข Recall a challenging situation you couldnโt get out of on your own. What did you do to move forward?
๐ช๐ข๐ฅ๐
. . . ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ข๐บ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ต ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฑ๐ช๐ณ๐ช๐ต, ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ข๐บ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ. ๐๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ, ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฑ ๐ข๐ญ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ต ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ, ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ด๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ด, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ญ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ฆ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ๐ด ๐ฎ๐ข๐บ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ญ๐บ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ค๐ญ๐ข๐ช๐ฎ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐บ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ญ, ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ช๐ค๐ฉ ๐ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ข๐ด๐ด๐ข๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ๐ด, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ ๐ฎ๐ข๐บ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ค๐ญ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ญ๐บ, ๐ข๐ด ๐ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ.ย ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐๐ก๐ฆ ๐ฒ:๐ญ๐ดโ๐ฎ๐ฌ
Prayer should be the believerโs first response to all situations and the constant state of our souls. Why? Because prayer signals our dependence on God in everything we do. We must pray with and for each other because prayer is not only personal but also communal. Letโs look at how prayer should shape our lives as believers.
๐ญ. ๐ช๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ๐.
. . . ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ข๐บ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐๐ฉ ๐๐ก๐ก ๐ฉ๐๐ข๐๐จ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฑ๐ช๐ณ๐ช๐ต, ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ข๐บ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ. ๐๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ, ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฑ ๐ข๐ญ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ต ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ, ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ด๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ด . . . ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐๐ก๐ฆ ๐ฒ:๐ญ๐ด
This means that we are to pray on all occasions, and this includes making prayer part of our worship gatherings. In this passage, Paul recognized and emphasized the importance of prayer, which is why he encouraged the believers to always pray for one another and for him as he goes on mission. What does Matthew 18:19โ20 say about praying together?
๐ฎ. ๐ช๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป.
. . . ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ข๐บ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ต ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฑ๐ช๐ณ๐ช๐ต, ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐๐ก๐ก ๐ฅ๐ง๐๐ฎ๐๐ง ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐จ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ก๐๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ. ๐๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ, ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฑ ๐ข๐ญ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ต ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ, ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ด๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ด . . .ย ย ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐๐ก๐ฆ ๐ฒ:๐ญ๐ด
When we pray, we pray different kinds of prayers. Sometimes we ask God for guidance or a blessing, other times we repent, and we also intercede for others or nations. We make every kind of request known to God because we know that God hears us when we come to Him in prayer (1 John 5:14โ15). Our prayers are secured in Christ Jesus. Recall some of the things the church has prayed for during your worship gatherings and how God has answered them.ย
๐ฏ. ๐ช๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ.
. . . ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ข๐บ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ต ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฑ๐ช๐ณ๐ช๐ต, ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ข๐บ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ. ๐๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ, ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฑ ๐ข๐ญ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ต ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐๐ก๐ก ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐จ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐ฃ๐๐, ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ด๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ด . . .ย ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐๐ก๐ฆ ๐ฒ:๐ญ๐ด
On earth, our lives arenโt storm-free, but we can be storm-proof. This is why we must fervently and constantly pray, being watchful because there are real struggles, difficulties, and enemies in this world. Persevering in prayer demonstrates that we are totally dependent on God for guidance, protection, and provision, especially through difficult times. What are some barriers you have encountered in praying consistently? How did you persevere?
๐ฐ. ๐ช๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐๐.ย
. . . ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ข๐บ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ต ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฑ๐ช๐ณ๐ช๐ต, ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ข๐บ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ. ๐๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ, ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฑ ๐ข๐ญ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ต ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ, ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ด๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐๐ค๐ง ๐๐ก๐ก ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐จ๐๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐จ . . . ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐๐ก๐ฆ ๐ฒ:๐ญ๐ด
We are called to pray for each other. Paul exemplifies this very idea throughout this letter. He begins the letter praising God and praying for the saints in Ephesus (Ephesians 1:15โ23). We are called to do the same. We must pray not just for their physical needs, but also for their spiritual growth and formation. This includes prayers for their families, campuses, workplaces, and communities. God calls each of us to intercede for our fellow believers, for our church leaders, and for the proclamation of the gospel. How have you experienced praying together with your church community?
๐๐ฃ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก
โข What steps can you take to persevere in prayer? How can you practically remind yourself to pray according to the exhortation of Paul in Ephesians 6 every day (e.g., add it to your to-do list, set a daily alarm, or plan with your small group)?ย
โข In your small group, take time to share prayer requests and ways you can support one another in prayer. Commit to do so together today and in your personal times of prayer this week.
โข Write down one campus and one nation. Commit to pray for these every week.ย
๐ฃ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐๐ฅ
โข Thank God for the freedom and privilege to approach Him in prayer individually and as a spiritual family. Ask God to give us a greater burden to pray for the lost, the church, our nation, and the nations of the world.
โข Pray for the grace to completely depend and rely on Him for all of our concernsโthat He would help us focus on Him as our ultimate answer in everything.ย
โข Pray for God to continue to shape us as His people through our worship gatherings and as He sends us out. Pray that we would be faithful to meet together and spur one another in love and good deeds.ย