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Members of the early church devoted themselves to prayer. They had witnessed firsthand Jesus’ life and ministry, and they understood what it meant to follow Him. Every time I begin reading the book of Acts, I’m struck by the enormity of what that small group of believers was supposed to accomplish. They were huddled together in a room, knowing that Jesus had sent them to be His witnesses throughout the known world and beyond, but not having a clue as to how to accomplish this task.
So what did they do? They prayed.
I’m convinced that we don’t take prayer seriously because we don’t understand the depth of our need for God to work supernaturally in our lives. Regardless of how confident we may feel, we are completely dependent on God for every breath we take and every action we perform. This means that if we are really going to live out our calling as the church, then we need to devote ourselves to prayer.
Use this session to examine your prayer life. Maybe you never take the time to stop and pray. Or maybe you’re a committed prayer warrior. Either way, it’s healthy to slow down and rethink your prayer life. How should we approach God in prayer? What is the purpose of prayer? What does it mean to be devoted to prayer? As you read through this ses-sion and answer the questions, push yourself to get back to the heart of prayer. This isn’t about a technique or a routine; it’s about coming humbly before God and begging Him to work in and around you.
Start by analyzing what you have done in the past. Try not to be defensive with this. Open yourself up and try to get to the heart of the way you tend to approach God in prayer.
Ecclesiastes calls us to think about what we’re doing when we approach God. Our culture tends to be very familiar, very casual, and we often have a hard time with showing respect for authority. But Ecclesiastes puts things in perspective: God is in heaven, and we are on earth, so we should address Him accordingly.
Read Ecclesiastes 5:1–7. Don’t read too quickly, but allow yourself to soak it in and take it to heart.