By Michael C. Mack

1. Who first taught you how to pray? 

Read Luke 11:1-13. 

2. Of all the things the disciples could have asked Jesus to teach them about, why do you think they asked him to teach them to pray? 

3. The disciples witnessed the prayer life of both John the Baptist and Jesus. (See, for instance, Luke 3:21; 5:16; 6:12; 9:18, 29.) If these two were men of prayer, why would they—and we—need to be people of prayer? 

4. When Jesus taught his followers how to pray, he began with praise (v. 2). Why is that significant? 

5. What do you learn about prayer from the format of Jesus’ model prayer? from the length? from the simplicity and/or complexity? 

6. Why is persistence a vital part of our prayer lives? 

7. What was Jesus communicating in these stories about God’s faithfulness? 

8. Corrie ten Boom said, “Don’t pray when you feel like it. Have an appointment with the Lord and keep it. A man is powerful on his knees.” Do you have and keep a prayer appointment with God each day? If yes, what does it look like? If no, will you commit to starting this week and this year?

Michael Mack is the author of 16 small group books and discussion guides. He also leads church training events and consults with churches through his ministry, Small Group Leadership (www.smallgroupleadership.com).