Crazy Love by Francis Chan
Week 1: Preface & Chapter 1 — Stop Praying
Read the Preface and Chapter 1 of Crazy Love. Key passages: Psalm 46:10; Isaiah 6:1-5; Revelation 4.
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Before we can talk about loving God, Chan insists we must first stop talking long enough to truly see who God is. Let these questions help you slow down and look.
Discussion Questions
7 questions1.Chan opens by inviting the reader to watch a short video about the scale of the universe before reading the book. Why do you think he starts there? What effect does contemplating the size and complexity of creation have on how you think about God — and about yourself?
2.The chapter title is "Stop Praying." What does Chan mean by this provocative command? How is it possible that our prayers can actually become a way of avoiding a real encounter with God?
3.Chan describes God as "holy, consuming, inevitable, and all-powerful" and then asks why we approach Him so casually. Where do you see casualness or familiarity replacing genuine awe in your own prayer life or church culture?
a.Can you think of a specific habit or phrase — in prayer, in worship, in how you talk about God — that has become so routine it no longer carries real weight?
b.What would it look like to approach God this week with more intentional reverence?
4.Isaiah's vision in Isaiah 6 and John's vision in Revelation 4 both describe creatures who are so overwhelmed by God's holiness that they can only cry out in worship. Chan uses these passages to frame what an honest encounter with God looks like. How does your typical experience of God in worship or prayer compare to these portraits?
5.Chan points out that God was not created to meet our needs — we were created to glorify Him. How does that reframe the way you think about your relationship with God? Does your prayer life reflect a desire to know God, or primarily a desire to receive things from God?
6.The chapter invites a kind of "holy silence" — a stopping, a beholding. What is it about silence and stillness that so many people (including Christians) find uncomfortable? What might that discomfort reveal?
7.How does beginning with God's overwhelming greatness — rather than beginning with human need or human sin — change the tone and foundation of the entire book's argument about love?
Closing Prayer
Father, You are holy, consuming, and beyond all our categories. Forgive us for the ways we have shrunk You down to fit our comfort — approaching You as a resource rather than a King, filling our prayers with requests rather than with wonder. Silence our noise this week. Let us truly see You — even for a moment — the way Isaiah saw You, the way John saw You, and may that vision undo every casual, half-hearted habit we have settled for. You are worthy of so much more than we have given. Amen.
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