Adam Stadtmiller - Praying for Your Elephant: Boldly Approaching Jesus with Radical and Audacious Prayer

BIBLE CREDITS

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com.

Scripture quotations marked ASV are taken from the American Standard Version. (Public Domain.)

Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified Bible. Copyright 1954, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org.)

Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible. Copyright 1999, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible. (Public Domain.)

Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from THE MESSAGE . Copyright by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright 1960, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org.)

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, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NRSV are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The author has added italics to Scripture quotations for emphasis.

This book is dedicated to my mother, Virginia Stadtmiller, who stood in the gap at the gates of hell as I tried to throw my life away to addiction. She is the woman who taught me how to pray and whose lifes motto Prayer is always the answer! has stood as a clarion call in my life.

CONTENTS

SMALL-GROUP DISCUSSION GUIDE

Praying for Your Elephant will be even more effective if read together within a prayer community. This discussion guide is a simple resource to help you do just that. Here, you will find questions that will spur dynamic discussion and encourage you to spend time together praying over the things that matter most to you. My hope is that as you prayerfully make your way through the book and begin praying game-changing prayers, God will begin to respond and encourage your community through answered prayer! Each week after going through the discussion questions, I suggest you share how God has responded to some items on your elephant prayer list. Close your gathering by praying over one anothers requests.

CHAPTER 1

PRAYING FOR YOUR ELEPHANT

1. In this chapter I wrote about my struggle to pray for seemingly insignificant things. After further study, I discovered I was limiting my prayers and their potential. How do you feel you have limited the power of your prayers? Discuss.

2. This chapter challenges you to survey your prayer life. Share the results of that survey with the group. Where is your prayer life going strong, and where is it in need of attention?

3. This chapter proposes that asking prayer is not just about us but has a three-fold mission. How do you respond to that idea? In practical terms, how would your prayer life change if you embraced this new understanding of prayerful petition?

4. As I explained, many believers lack an understanding of what they are praying for. Is this true for you? Why or why not?

5. How could creating and tracking a list of one hundred strategic and specific prayer requests change your prayer life?

CHAPTER 2

I DARE YOU

1. Do you agree that it is a risky proposition to pray for anything in Jesuss name? Why or why not? What could be the potential challenges or blessings?

2. How can praying for anything in Jesuss name become reckless? Is it possible to go too far?

3. How has guilt impeded your prayer life? Have you felt too guilty to pray for certain requests?

4. I wrote about how I once prayed for a mans motorcycle to start. Have you ever stepped out in faith to pray for someone in public? What was the result?

5. Are there things you are too fearful to pray for? Discuss why that might be.

CHAPTER 3

IDENTIFYING YOUR ELEPHANTS

1. In this chapter I wrote about free-running our prayer lives, or having no structure or discipline in the manner in which we pray. How important is it to have a defined and structured prayer time?

2. How can we protect ourselves from legalism in our prayer life?

3. Gods responses to our prayers often go far beyond what we originally asked. The book you are reading is one example of how God took a small, foolish prayer and magnified it into a much deeper purpose in my life. Share about a time when God answered one of your prayers in a manner above and beyond what you could have hoped for.

4. In this chapter I compared prayer to a salvage mission for sunken treasure. Do you agree that there are some purposes in our lives that will never be brought to the surface without prayer? Or will God have His way regardless of our prayers? Discuss.

5. I talked at length about the importance of spiritual imagination. Discuss the ways in which spending more time imagining more deeply into your prayers could change your prayer life.

CHAPTER 4

LOST IN SPACE

1. Have you ever been discouraged by your lack of expertise in prayer?

2. How have you addressed the problem of distractions during your prayer time? How do you stay focused in prayer?

3. Romans 8:26 states that no one knows how to pray. Do you find that a comfort or a discouragement?

4. The book of Romans mentions that the Holy Spirit helps us in our prayerful weakness. How have you experienced being helped in prayer by the Holy Spirit?

5. Experience is more important than expertise when it comes to prayer. Describe a powerful experience you have had in prayer.

CHAPTER 5

DIGGING FOR GOLD

1. In this chapter I discussed the challenge of keeping our prayer times consistent. How have you been able to stay consistent in prayer?

2. Do you ever find prayer boring or monotonous? How do you address this problem?

3. What do you do when you find yourself stuck in a prayer rut?

4. I spoke about the importance of staking a claim in the real estate of your personal time. Where do you have opportunities in your daily life to create some sacred and prayerful space?

5. Other than Gods Word, the primary place you should be receiving direction from God is in prayer. Is this true for you, or do you depend more on other outside sources to find direction for life?

CHAPTER 6

OOMPA-LOOMPAS

1. Describe the balance of your current prayer life. Do you spend more time praying for others or for things related to yourself?

2. In this chapter I raise the issue of being disappointed when God does not answer our requests. This is especially true when we feel that we have done all the things He requires of us. Share about a time when you were disappointed with Gods lack of response to your prayers.