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{Prayer and Listening} #2

 PRAYING WITH AUTHENTICITY_ 

 
Advise about prayer can be contradictory: “You can say anything to God because God loves you” versus “Don’t be negative or despairing – remember you’re talking to the God of the universe.” 
Authenticity in prayer is difficult. Bringing our true selves to God is tricky because God is so good and pure and we are not. As we saw last time, prayer is a conversation between unequals. Yet the Psalms illustrate how God wants us to bring our unsanitised thoughts to prayer. 
We’re free to state our doubts, fears and questions, yet this isn’t the same as blurting out self-focused rants! We can learn to pray authentically and with reverence and trust... 

 

[Group discussion starter] When you've heard someone pray aloud in an authentic way, how did this help you or not help you? 

 

Psalm 74 is the prayer of a child of God in great pain.  
The powerful empire of Babylon had carried away citizens of Judah into exile after devastating the capital city and destroying God’s temple. Lives of individual Israelites were destroyed, and the nation of Israel was broken. 
The Psalmist expresses pain and despair, asking tough questions such as “Why?” and “How long?” The Psalmist accuses his enemies and states their crimes in concrete terms. But the Psalmist doesn’t whine and complain. Instead, he focuses on God as the one in charge of the universe, reminding himself of God’s great deeds and mercy in history and creation. He pleads because he knows this God is the One who can make a difference. 

 
[Read Psalm 74] 

 

What are the psalmist's doubts and fears? 

 

In what ways can you relate? 

 

If it doesn't help to ask why tragedies occur, why do you think the psalmist asks why in this psalm (verse 1)? 

 

As we see in verses 5-8, how can it be helpful to call others' out to God? 

In what ways can a person question God without being irreverent (see verses 9-11)? 
 

 

[Activity] List all of the references to Israel's deliverance from Egypt, that you can find in this Psalm. 

 

 

 

 

How is the tone of verses 9-11 different from the tone used in verses 12-17? 

 

What is the significance of the word "you" occurring ten times in verses 9-17? 

 

Verses 18-23 include eight requests.  
What phrases in these requests fit with what we know about the character of God? 

 

 

In what ways is this prayer (Psalm 74) as much about God as it is about the dreadful circumstances of the psalmist and Israel? 

 

Why is this sort of prayer likely to be healing to our souls? 

 

How is such a prayer likely to result in greater trust in God and faithfulness to what God calls us to do? 

 

If you were to pray at this moment, which of the elements from Psalm 74 would you like to include in your prayer?

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