Pause (Small Group Study)
Small Group Study, week commencing 20th April
Click here for a PDF version of these questions.
1. Ken has suggested that in reading the whole of Psalm 46 we will find things that fit our context. Is this true for you? In what ways?
2. Is this a season where pause is easier or harder for you? Why?
3. Does your personality type thrive or struggle with pause before prayer?
4. ‘Our souls are like shy wild animals’ – afraid to come out when there is noise and activity. Has this been your experience?
5. ‘When we look back and review this period in our history, we will have to ask ourselves as churches and Christians, did we look up and out as well as in?’ Agree or disagree?
6. Have we ever read ‘be still’ as a firm command from God rather than just a gentle reminder? Does that help and bring any fresh insights or not?
7. In an email this week from Paul Beasley Murray (Past Principal of Spurgeon’s College) he quotes a hospital chaplain: “We must provide careful listening to silence. Far different from ‘dead air’ or ‘empty space that needs to be filled’, the absence of words actually can hold the person’s emotional complexities, spotlight the mingling conflicted thoughts and feelings, or invite us deeper into the story that has not yet been fully told.” Is something similar going on when we are silent and pause before God in prayer?
8. Ken used two quotes in this week’s message – one about waiting, and one about pausing: ‘Waiting is part of life – our physical and spiritual life. We wait for God to intervene in our situation, to answer prayers, to fulfil his purposes and for Jesus to return. But waiting does not mean inactivity. The Bible urges us to wait expectantly (Psalm 5:3), patiently (Psalm 37:7) and with hope (Psalm 33:20). Wait purposefully: pray, grow as a disciple, be active serving God, be available for him to use… you have no idea what God is doing behind the scenes and what part your waiting will play in God’s plan of salvation. I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.’ (Lamentations 3:24)’ Alistair Begg
‘We humans have chosen speed and we thrive on it, more than we generally admit. Our ability to work fast and play fast gives us power. Yet we need to pause in order to check that we have first things first and ensure that our lives continue to hold meaning. Only then can we say ‘yes’ without reservation, and ‘no’ without guilt to the demands and expectations of others.’ James Gleick in Faster
Do either particularly resonate? If so, why?
9. Let’s pray – and as we pray – let’s pause…
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