Max Lucado - Before Amen Study Guide: The Power of a Simple Prayer

Before Amen Study Guide

Copyright 2014 by Max Lucado

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All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois. All rights reserved.

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Cover design and photography: Micah Kandros

Interior design: Matthew Van Zomeren

ISBN: 978-0-5291-2334-3

ISBN: 978-0-5291-2341-1 (eBook)

First Printing August 2014

Contents

Of Note

The quotations interspersed throughout this study guide and the introductory comments are excerpts from the book Before Amen and the video curriculum of the same name by Max Lucado. All other resources including the small group questions, session introductions, and between-sessions materials have been written by Kevin and Sherry Harney.

Ebook Instructions

In this ebook edition, please use your devices note-taking function to record your thoughts wherever you see the bracketed instructions [Your Notes] or [Your Response]. Use your devices highlighting function to record your response whenever you are asked to checkmark, circle, underline, or otherwise indicate your answer(s).

Do you want to learn to pray? I would suggest that there is no better place to start than watching Jesus as he prayed and watching him very closely.

Jesus set a compelling prayer example. He prayed before he ate. He prayed for children. He prayed for the sick. He prayed for the downtrodden. He made the planets and shaped the stars, yet he prayed. He is the Lord of angels and commander of heavenly hosts, yet he prayed. He was coequal with God, the exact representation of the Holy One, yet he devoted himself to prayer. He prayed in the desert, in the cemetery, and in the garden. He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed (Mark 1:35 NKJV).

This dialog must have been common among his friends.

Has anyone seen Jesus?

Oh, you know. Hes up to the same thing.

Praying, again?

Yep. Hes been gone since sunrise.

Jesus was prone to disappear for an entire night of prayer. Im thinking of one occasion in particular. He had just experienced one of the most stressful days of his ministry. The morning began with the news of the brutal execution of his cousin, John the Baptist. Jesus sought to retreat with his disciples, yet a throng of thousands followed him. Though he was grief-stricken, he spent the day teaching and healing people. When the disciples discovered that the host of people had no food to eat, Jesus multiplied bread out of a basket and fed the entire multitude. In the span of twelve hours, he battled sorrow, stress, demands, and needs. He deserved a good nights rest. Yet, when evening finally came, he told the crowd to leave and the disciples to board their boat, and he went up into the hills by himself to pray (Mark 6:46 NLT).

Apparently, it was the correct choice. A storm exploded over the Sea of Galilee, leaving the disciples in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves. About three oclock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water (Matthew 14:24 25 NLT). Jesus ascended the mountain depleted. He reappeared invigorated. When he reached the water, he never broke his stride. Youd have thought the water was a park lawn and the storm a spring breeze.

Do you think the disciples made the prayer/power connection? Lord, teach us to pray like that. Teach us to find strength in prayer. To banish fear in prayer. To defy storms in prayer. To come off the mountain of prayer with the authority of a prince.

What about you? The disciples faced angry waves and a watery grave. You face angry clients, a turbulent economy, stormy family challenges, and the raging seas of stress and sorrow. If you are like the disciples, you might find yourself asking Jesus, Will you teach me to pray? If you want to learn, there is no better teacher than Jesus. If you are ready, there is no better time than now.

I am delighted that we are taking this prayer journey together!

How should we draw near to God? Come like a little child. That was the advice of Jesus. Come carefree. Joy-filled. Playful. Trusting. Curious. Excited. Forget greatness; seek littleness. Trust more, strut less. Make lots of requests and accept all the gifts. Come to God like a child comes to Daddy.

Introduction

Insane complexity.

It is everywhere, seeking to swallow us up. It shouts so loud we can barely hear ourselves think. In many cases, it makes no sense. But the countless options, endless flavors, and infinite opportunities slam against our lives like a tsunami.

If you are more than fifty years old, you probably remember a time when there were only three TV channels. There was a time at night when a voice came on the television to say, This concludes todays programing. After that announcement, the TV went blank! There was nothing to watch.

If you are under thirty, you cant imagine a world without hundreds of channels available twenty-four hours a day providing cooking shows, shopping networks, sports, movies, situation comedies, childrens programming, reality shows, religious shows, news, and programs about virtually anything you can imagine. You can sit down to relax and watch a half hour of TV and spend the entire time wading through the sea of options, never settling on something entertaining or relaxing.

Suppose you wanted to learn about fly-fishing. Years ago, you would find someone who loved the sport and have a conversation with him or her. You might check out a book about fly-fishing from the local library. If you were really motivated, you could go out and watch an actual person artistically dance a fly across the waters of a stream. But today, if you want to get an introduction to fly-fishing, all you have to do is a Google search. Within a fraction of a second, you will have at your disposal more than ninety million online articles, videos, sales promotions, pictures, and perspectives on this one topic.

Into our complex world, Jesus calls us to prayer. His invitation is gentle and quite simple. Be honest. Be yourself. There are not a lot of rules. You dont need ninety million articles and videos to learn to pray. Just talk with your heavenly Father and be confident that he hears you, he loves you, and he is good.