CATALYST YOUTH, "The Gift of Gab" Part One, Friday, October 2, 2015

This week is part one of "The Gift of Gab". I kicked off with a video clip from one of the most awkward and hilarious movie prayers ever. The concept of prayer...even thanking God for food...was just totally foreign to this guy. Is prayer awkward and uncomfortable for us? Do we think we need to master Shakespearean English before attempting a conversation with God? Let's clear up any confusion by answering a few questions...

1. WHY PRAY?
The Bible tells us that we were meant to have a friendship (or a father-child relationship) with God, but it's pretty hard to be close to anyone if we never talk to them. In Genesis, Adam and Eve walked and talked with God, in the Psalms people expressed a wide variety of emotions (from joy and worship to sadness and anger). The Bible tells us in 1 Peter 5:7 that God actually CARES about us and WANTS to hear from us! He wants us to lean and depend on Him. He wants us to express ourselves to Him.

2. WHO SHOULD PRAY?
As a pastor, a lot of people assume that I have a special direct-line to God-- that He hears me way better than he hears other people. While in the Old Testament, the priests acted as middle-men between God and people, we see in the New Testament that we ALL have instant access to God!

3. HOW SHOULD WE PRAY?
Our prayers don't need to be super formal and impressive. God doesn't only understand ye ol' English. In Matthew 5:6-7, Jesus taught people about prayer, saying that God doesn't care about elaborate "show-off" prayers. He doesn't want us to stretch our prayers out with lots of "filler". God just wants to hear FROM US. What does a parent love more, something hand-drawn by their child (even if the coloring is completely outside the lines) or a formal, type-written essay? God just wants our honest scribbles. There is also no prescribed way to pray. While some people kneel, fold their hands, and close their eyes, that's because it helps them focus on what they're doing, not because the position they pray in increases the satellite reception between them and God. If you can think, or if you can talk, you can pray.

4. WHEN & WHERE SHOULD WE PRAY?
1 Thessalonians 5:17 simply says, "Never stop praying". At first glance, this seems ridiculous and impossible, but Paul isn't suggesting that we should LITERALLY never stop praying, but that we have an open line of communication with God at all times-- and we can talk to him whenever we feel like it. Some people find it helpful to set aside a specific time every day to talk to God (and to be honest, this is probably your best chance of actually fitting him in to your life), but I tend to "stop, drop, and pray" whenever I hear about a need, or whenever I want to talk to God. In fact, I often use a lot of "down time", like when I'm driving in the car to take a few minutes to chat with God.

Next time, I'll be continuing the series by talking about why it seems like God doesn't often answer our prayers. Is it because he's too busy? Is it because he doesn't care THAT much?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. Do you find it easy or hard to pray? Why?

2. This week I challenged the students to talk to God for at least 2 minutes every day. Encourage them to do that. Encourage them to express themselves to God, to ask him for help where it's needed, to pray for forgiveness when they've really messed up, or to pray for someone they know who's having a difficult time.