Bill Hybels - Too Busy Not to Pray Study Guide

Through the ages, prayer has changed attitudes, changed circumstances, changed minds, delivered wisdom, delivered resources, delivered deliverance, cured sickness, calmed winds, healed marriages, untangled financial knots, emboldened the oppressed, expanded the gates of heaven, and brought to life those who were dead. In a word, prayer has mattered. And evidently, we believe it still does. Three out of four people claim to pray every single day, which means that in spite of our sometimes-fragile faith, we keep coming back to the ideas that God is willing to hear us when we call, and that he is able to lend a helping hand.

In short, this is why we pray.

Prior to meeting with your group to discuss session 1, read the following chapters of the book Too Busy Not to Pray (2008 edition):

Chapter 1, God of Peace, God of Power

Chapter 2, God Is Willing

Chapter 3, God Is Able

In functional families, children learn from the earliest of ages that their mother and father will respond to them when they have a pressing need. As babies, they know that when they cry in the middle of the night, Mom will show up with a concerned look on her face, eager to help sort out whether food or cuddles or added warmth is going to solve the problem and then help provide that resource as quickly as possible.

They know that when Dad reaches down to pick them up, there will be gentleness in his touch. They know that when they spit up, Mom will be there to patiently clean up the mess. They know that when they smile, loved ones will smile back.

As they get older, they come to understand that birthdays and Christmastime will always involve meaningful traditions and lots of love. They understand that rules are established for their protection. They understand that when they violate those rules, there may be consequences, but also there will be forgiveness, there will be grace. They understand that whatever else happens, there always will be love. This is how it goes with good parents; they never neglect trying to meet real needs, and they never neglect trying to love well.

In Matthew 7, we read some pretty powerful words from Jesus about how we are to approach our heavenly Father in prayer. Dont bargain with God, he instructs. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This isnt a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game were in. If your child asks for bread, do you trick him with sawdust? If he asks for fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate? As bad as you are, you wouldnt think of such a thing. Youre at least decent to your own children. So dont you think the God who conceived you in love will be even better? (vv. 7 11 MSG).

What hes saying, essentially, is this: As human parents, the best we can do is still not so good, when compared with Gods goodness. We are fallen. We are fearful. We are broken. We are self-centered and sin-scarred and weak. Yes, we do our level best to love our kids well, but we are imperfect and inconsistent and our motives are impure at times. But not so with God.

No, we can come boldly before his throne, knowing that while earthly parents try to meet needs, our heavenly Father is always willing, always able to do so. While earthly parents try to love well, our heavenly Father loves us with a perfect and everlasting love.

We may shake our heads and chuckle at the kid who hands his teacher his completed geography test and then prays, God, please make Detroit the capital of Michigan, but most of us have offered up our share of misdirected prayers from time to time.

For example, we fly down neighborhood streets, late to church again, praying that we wont get pulled over. We pray that our first date with this self-absorbed person soon will be over. We pull into a parking spot designated for drivers with disabilities, praying as we dash into the store that nobody who really needs the slot will be left circling the lot the entire time were inside. When our kids are small, we pray they wont wake from a nap while were trying to see just one task through to completion. We pray the snowstorm thats making a beeline for our town will miraculously be diverted, so we can carry on with carefully crafted plans. Women, in particular, pray that their skinny clothes will somehow still fit.