Small Group Study Guide

1. Introduce the Session

5 minutes

Key verse
“Lord, teach us to pray” – Luke 11:1

• In this first session of The Prayer Course, we’ll unpack the importance of prayer and the different topics covered across the course.
• Begin by opening in Prayer

2. Watch the Video

20 minutes

Bible passages
Luke 11:1-4, Matthew 6:6-8 (MSG), Romans 8:26-28

Summary points

• We can ask Jesus to help teach us to pray
• Prayer is like a toolbox – there are lots of different ways of praying
• Keep it simple. Keep it Real. Keep it up.

3. Discuss Questions

20 minutes

Q. What did you find most helpful or most challenging in the video? 
Q. What do you find difficult about prayer? What do you find easy? Why do you think prayer can often feel hard? 

Pete says the best piece of advice is to “Keep it simple, keep it real and keep it up.” 

Keep it simple: “your prayer life is at its best at its simplest” 
Q. What do you mostly talk to God about? 

Keep it real: “Don’t role-play before God” 
Q. Do you feel like you have to act a certain way before God when you pray? Why or why not? 

Keep it up: “Don’t give up praying too soon” 
Q. Do you find it challenging to persevere in prayer? How can we be encouraged to keep going? 

4. Do it

15 minutes

Split into small groups, and share one way you’d like to grow in prayer and your relationship with God over the course. 

Leader’s note 
You also might like to write down your goals, so that you can revisit them at the end of the course.