BOLD, an Uncharted Journey | Week 2 Bold Prayers | October 27th

by | Oct 27, 2024 | Digging Deeper


Sermon Title: BOLD, an Uncharted Journey, week 2

Reno Campus
Pastor Dave Pretlove

Carson Campus
Pastor Dusty Braun

Campus Announcements / Service Moments
Reno Campus

Carson Campus

Sermon Title: BOLD, an Uncharted Journey, week 2
Passage: Nehemiah 1:1:4-11

Why Don’t We Pray Bold Prayers?…

  1. We underestimate God’s greatness.
  2. We underestimate our desperation.
    • Bold Prayer #2 
      “God, in this uncharted season help me to see just how much i really need you in a fresh way.”
  3. We underestimate our identity, calling, and opportunities.
    • Bold Prayer #3 
      “God, in this uncharted season help me to have a greater sense of how much you want to use me than ever before.”
      Nehemiah 1:8-11

 

GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  • Have you ever prayed for something that was humanly so unlikely to happen, yet you prayed for it anyway?
  • What about the character of God keeps you praying boldly, even when others may doubt?
  • Part of Nehemiah’s bold prayer included repentance. Is there anything in your life you feel you need to ask God for forgiveness about as you pray boldly? Sometimes repentance isn’t even things that seem overtly sinful but can be other things that almost ‘creep’ in on us, like apathy, complacency, comfort, and convenience. What in your life do you feel you need to repent from as you continue or embark on this Uncharted journey?
  • Nehemiah reached a point in life where he actually felt confident enough to pray boldly. Do you share that confidence, or do you struggle to have the confidence to pray boldly?
  • What is a bold prayer you are praying in your life right now that seems impossible? Why do you believe it is possible, and why do you keep praying about it?
  • What bold prayers do you seek to pray for our church and the vision God has called us to in Nevada?
  • What bold prayers can your group be praying for you personally on this Uncharted journey?

 

PERSONAL REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

  • Read Nehemiah 1:4-5 Are there areas where I am praying smaller, safer prayers because I haven’t fully grasped how powerful and capable God is? 
  • What could shift if I truly believed in His Majesty?
  • Nehemiah’s prayer in Nehemiah 1: 6-7  comes from a place of desperation. Where in my life am I trying to manage things on my own? 
  • How might God be inviting me to lean more deeply into prayer as a declaration of my dependency on Him?
  • Nehemiah, in verses 9-11, is reminded of the covenant and the opportunity to return to the Lord. Do I see myself as a part of God’s redemptive plan, living with a purpose that’s greater than myself? 
  • How can I step into the boldness that comes from my identity in Christ?
  • What bold prayer is God inviting me to pray right now?
  • What’s holding me back from asking God for more in this season—whether it’s fear, doubt, or feeling unworthy?

 

SCRIPTURES TO MEDITATE ON:

 

RESOURCES:

MONTHLY SPIRITUAL PRACTICE TO TRY: Meditation

In the practice of Christian meditation, we cultivate a purposeful focus on God. Our daily lives often operate in chaos and fragmentation, leading us to become addicted to distraction and driven by the tyranny of the urgent. But when we meditate, we confront our minds, hearts, and souls with the glory of God.

Meditation is the intentional practice of slowing down the pace of our fragmented day to center our focus on God—on His presence, His power, His glory. It shifts our attention from the temporary to the eternal.

This week, as you explore the discipline of meditation, think often of God and embrace the truth Moses declared to the people of Israel in Deuteronomy 31:6: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.”

He will never leave you. Meditate on His presence and His promise to be with you always.

Meditative Exercise for This Week:

Take time to reflect deeply on this statement from the Heidelberg Catechism:

Question: What is your only comfort in life and in death?
Answer: That I belong, body and soul, in life and in death, not to myself, but to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ, who at the cost of His own blood has fully paid for all my sins and has completely freed me from the dominion of the devil.

 

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT:

As I have journeyed with Jesus over the years it has become apparent that comfort kills my faith. What I mean by that is the tendency to be comfortable and not stretch myself leads to complacency. In the seasons where I have stretched out and taken big bold steps, I have experienced a closeness with God and a dependency that is unlike any other faith moments. It is at the end our myself that real faith begins and takes root. Galatians 2:20 discusses this idea. ‘I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. ‘

As we embark on this series. I hope you take a few moments to be real and authentic with yourself and ask, What needs to be set down in order to develop a bold faith? I promise you, that you will not regret the journey or the faith God works out in you.

Rob Hans | Spiritual Formation and Connections Pastor