BIG IDEA
We are in the middle of a series about the life of Daniel, a man who held on to his faith as he faced obstacle after obstacle, yet continued to remain firm in his faith. He consistently held on to his integrity. How did he stay faithful to God and maintain his integrity? One of the things we know about him is that He prayed. He turned to God for help rather than his power and strength. His prayer life certainly played a role in the integrity that he lived out daily.
BREAK THE ICE
Who do you usually call when you need help?
SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS
Bible Study
1. In what circumstances are people most likely to pray? Why?
WATCH SERMON RECAP
2.Read Daniel 2:1-9. What was at stake if no one interpreted the king's dream?
Daniel 2:1-9
"One night during the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had such disturbing dreams that he couldn't sleep. 2 He called in his magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers, and he demanded that they tell him what he had dreamed. As they stood before the king, 3 he said, "I have had a dream that deeply troubles me, and I must know what it means." 4 Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, "Long live the king! Tell us the dream, and we will tell you what it means." 5 But the king said to the astrologers, "I am serious about this. If you don't tell me what my dream was and what it means, you will be torn limb from limb, and your houses will be turned into heaps of rubble! 6 But if you tell me what I dreamed and what the dream means, I will give you many wonderful gifts and honors. Just tell me the dream and what it means!" 7 They said again, "Please, Your Majesty. Tell us the dream, and we will tell you what it means." 8 The king replied, "I know what you are doing! You're stalling for time because you know I am serious when I say, 9 'If you don't tell me the dream, you are doomed.' So you have conspired to tell me lies, hoping I will change my mind. But tell me the dream, and then I'll know that you can tell me what it means."
"One night during the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had such disturbing dreams that he couldn't sleep. 2 He called in his magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers, and he demanded that they tell him what he had dreamed. As they stood before the king, 3 he said, "I have had a dream that deeply troubles me, and I must know what it means."
4 Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, "Long live the king! Tell us the dream, and we will tell you what it means."
5 But the king said to the astrologers, "I am serious about this. If you don't tell me what my dream was and what it means, you will be torn limb from limb, and your houses will be turned into heaps of rubble! 6 But if you tell me what I dreamed and what the dream means, I will give you many wonderful gifts and honors. Just tell me the dream and what it means!"
7 They said again, "Please, Your Majesty. Tell us the dream, and we will tell you what it means."
8 The king replied, "I know what you are doing! You're stalling for time because you know I am serious when I say, 9 'If you don't tell me the dream, you are doomed.' So you have conspired to tell me lies, hoping I will change my mind. But tell me the dream, and then I'll know that you can tell me what it means."
3. Read Daniel 2:10-18. Compare and contrast the response of the astrologers and Daniel's response.
Daniel 2:10-18
10 The astrologers replied to the king, “No one on earth can tell the king his dream! And no king, however great and powerful, has ever asked such a thing of any magician, enchanter, or astrologer! 11 The king’s demand is impossible. No one except the gods can tell you your dream, and they do not live here among people.” 12 The king was furious when he heard this, and he ordered that all the wise men of Babylon be executed. 13 And because of the king’s decree, men were sent to find and kill Daniel and his friends. 14 When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, came to kill them, Daniel handled the situation with wisdom and discretion. 15 He asked Arioch, “Why has the king issued such a harsh decree?” So Arioch told him all that had happened. 16 Daniel went at once to see the king and requested more time to tell the king what the dream meant. 17 Then Daniel went home and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what had happened. 18 He urged them to ask the God of heaven to show them his mercy by telling them the secret, so they would not be executed along with the other wise men of Babylon.
10 The astrologers replied to the king, “No one on earth can tell the king his dream! And no king, however great and powerful, has ever asked such a thing of any magician, enchanter, or astrologer! 11 The king’s demand is impossible. No one except the gods can tell you your dream, and they do not live here among people.”
12 The king was furious when he heard this, and he ordered that all the wise men of Babylon be executed. 13 And because of the king’s decree, men were sent to find and kill Daniel and his friends.
14 When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, came to kill them, Daniel handled the situation with wisdom and discretion. 15 He asked Arioch, “Why has the king issued such a harsh decree?” So Arioch told him all that had happened. 16 Daniel went at once to see the king and requested more time to tell the king what the dream meant.
17 Then Daniel went home and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what had happened. 18 He urged them to ask the God of heaven to show them his mercy by telling them the secret, so they would not be executed along with the other wise men of Babylon.
4. Read Daniel 2:19-23. How did God respond to the prayers of Daniel and his friends?
Daniel 2:19-23
19 That night the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven. 20 He said,“Praise the name of God forever and ever, for he has all wisdom and power. 21 He controls the course of world events; he removes kings and sets up other kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the scholars. 22 He reveals deep and mysterious things and knows what lies hidden in darkness, though he is surrounded by light. 23 I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors, for you have given me wisdom and strength.You have told me what we asked of you and revealed to us what the king demanded.”
Application
1. Why is prayer so important in situations where we need help?
2. What is a current situation in your life where you need God's help?
3. What is a past prayer that God answered? What happened? How did you respond?
MOVING FORWARD
Take a few moments to follow Daniel's example and pray. Hopefully, everyone has shared a situation where they need God's help. Have everyone write down that situation on a notecard or sheet of paper. After everyone has written down the situation where they need help, have each group member select one person's prayer request. Have each group member pray for their selected request for the next week. Let's be people who constantly pray for each other and praise God for how He responds.
Going Deeper
Prayer is one of the most powerful, yet underutilized tools that we have to communicate with God. After all, prayer is our opportunity to talk to God and hear from Him. Today we are going to look at three things to remember as we approach prayer to help us grow in our prayer lives.
We get to pray to God as our Heavenly Father.
During His ministry on Earth, Jesus taught that we get to pray to God as our Heavenly Father. As our perfect Heavenly Father, this means that God cares about us and wants the best for us. He wants to talk to us and hear from us. As it has been said, “what concerns you concerns Him. Not only that, but because He is God, He is able to work and move in our lives. He may not always work and move in ways we expect, but He, the God of the universe, is at work in our lives when we pray.
Matthew 6:6-9
6 But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.
7 “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again.
8 Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!
9 Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.
We can pray about everything and in all circumstances.
Some people struggle to pray because they do not know what to say in their prayers. Scripture alleviates that concern by telling us that nothing is off the table when we pray. God wants to hear from us about everything on our mind. We can pray when we are happy, sad, hurting, sick, and tired. We can pray about anything. We can also pray any time. This is the beauty of praying to a Heavenly Father who loves us so much.
Ephesians 6:18
Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.
God hears us when we pray.
Some people pray and wonder if God is listening. They wonder if God hears. The good news in Scripture is that every time we pray, God is listening to us. He hears us when we pray and always responds. He may not respond how we had hoped, but He always responds according to our good and His glory. This is good news for us. We are praying to a God who is actively listening and responding to us when we come to Him.
1 John 5:14
And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him.
Reflect: Take a few moments to reflect on this passages of Scripture that you read with your group today.
Your homework this week is to write these three truths down that we looked at today. Every time you pray, read the truths from Scripture out loud. Let these verses remind you that you have a loving Heavenly Father who hears you when you pray and wants to what about everything you want to talk to Him about.
MONTHLY MEMORY VERSE (Available for download on Sagebrush App)
He said, "Praise the name of God forever and ever, for he has all wisdom and power." Daniel 2:20
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