Life is hard. Do not be surprised at suffering. The world is fallen, do not expect things to be perfect, adjust your expectations. Do not think: Why me? As if you're immune to human afflictions. Why not me? Christian hope is not to escape from suffering but a deeper relationship with the 'Man of sorrows familiar with suffering' who loves us and lives in us. Believe in God even more than we believe in miracles. We almost always pray for God to remove the negative, rather than to endure the negative with a proper attitude. Yet we should not actively seek suffering! And God hates suffering, one day there will be a new hope.

If your group is more than 3 people, we would recommend splitting into smaller groups of 2 or 3 to give everyone an opportunity to share and pray for one another. Explain how much time you will have for prayer, and roughly how much time each person will have for sharing and praying. Ask one another Speaking of a pastor friend he looked to for help in handling the potential reality of death to his wife he says: Q. What, practically, do you think is needed for persevering in faith and prayer through the ‘winter seasons’ of life?

Time From Placing Of Order To Dispatch

I believe in the sun even when it isn't shining. I believe in love even when I am alone. I believe in God even when he is silent." To prepare for that, and to get the most out of the session, read chapters 7-10 of God on Mute. This is also available as an audiobook if you find that easier. Closing prayer Q. What did you find most helpful, inspiring or challenging in what Pete Greig, Gemma Hunt and Simon Thomas shared? This book is written in a quirky, down to earth style that makes you feel that Greig lives like you and me in the real world. His honesty about his own shortcomings helps draw us in and make us feel that he is describing a reality that we can relate to. He is a gifted writer and has a brilliant feel for the quirky image or metaphor that will sometimes make you smile but which nevertheless makes things clear. I laughed out loud at Perseverance. Some prayers aren't answered yet. Whether they are being resisted by spiritual forces, stubborn people or God himself, don't give up praying.

Few experiences in life are as disconcerting as seasons in which God is silent. This may be a current reality for some members of your group. Therefore, it’s important to dignify their questions in this session without trying to ‘solve’ them. Greig faces the reality of the suffering that is endured when desperate prayers seem to go unanswered, but his essential message is nevertheless one of hope and confidence in God. He calls us to a deeper understanding of a God of love who always works for the best of those who love him, and acceptance that God is at work in the deepest trials. He uses them to create within those who endure them a holy sweetness and a depth of unshakeable faith that just cannot be produced any other way. One of many lovely stories is of an elderly friend who has suffered for 72 years with a debilitating illness. She testifies that her need has drawn her ever closer to the Lord, discovering his strength in her weakness, his presence in her pain, so much so that she can say that she feels almost sorry for those who sail through life without trouble but never discover the greatest gift of God’s strength. Wow! Over the years we've lost count of the number of times we've recommended God on Mute to people who are wrestling with doubts and struggling to connect with God in seasons of pain and confusion. It's achingly honest, beautifully crafted and theologically deep--an absolute classic. For both of us, this is one of the most profound and helpful books we've ever read on one of the most essential questions, 'Where is God when it hurts?' (And we're not just saying that because we love Pete!)' Tim and Rachel Hughes, Gas Street, Birmingham, UK, and Worship Central International This is the beginning of an amazing journey. The Prayer Course II videos provide useful teaching, but it is in small groups that this information turns into transformation through the power of personal discussion and prayer. The most powerful theological books are not written from a distant theoretical viewpoint, but from the battlefield. They're authored by writers who have wrestled intensely with their theme in the gritty, raw realities of this life. That is precisely why Pete Greig's book on unanswered prayer is so very powerful and profound. For anyone wondering why God seems absent and why heaven seems silent, God on Mute has some extremely helpful, and healing, things to say. This book has already impacted many thousands, and I know it will impact you.' Matt Redman, worship leaderRelationship. God is a greater answer then what we are asking for and He wants to use our sense of need to draw us into a deeper relationship with Himself. Some prayers aren’t answered because creation is “subjected to frustration” and hast not yet been fully “liberated from its bondage to decay” (Rom. 8:20-21). Tragically, life in such an environment is inevitably going to be acutely difficult at times.” I don’t remember anything specific I disagreed with in the book, but the author would differ on some doctrinal issues. Be honest and have naked trust before God. Lamenting is not only a way of expressing emotion but a fruit of a deepening spiritual life that is able to stand naked before God with no shame or pretence. The laws of nature. Some prayers would be detrimental to the world and to the lives of others. Miracles by definition are not common because we live in a stable world.