A Praying Life by Paul Miller
Week 2: Chapter 1 — Intro to Childlike Prayer / Learning to Be Helpless
Read Chapters 1–2 of A Praying Life ("Learning to Pray Like a Child" and "Learning to Be Helpless")
Previewing Week 2 of A Praying Life
Read 3 of 7 discussion questions below. Unlock the complete 14-week guide when you’re ready.
Miller's opening chapters press on a single point: prayer begins not with technique but with need. This week, sit with the uncomfortable question of whether you actually believe you are helpless.
Discussion Questions
7 questions1.Miller describes watching his daughter Kim (who has severe autism) and learning from her unself-conscious neediness. What did that image open up for you about what God might want from us in prayer?
2.He distinguishes between feeling needy and being needy. Most of us are genuinely dependent on God but don't feel it. What has numbed you to your own neediness — comfort, competence, routine, or something else?
3.Miller writes that the main barrier to prayer is our desire to be in control. Where in your life right now is the illusion of control most firmly in place — and what would it look like to let that go in prayer?