Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God by Timothy Keller
Week 2: Chapter 1 — The Necessity of Prayer
Read Chapter 1 of Prayer by Timothy Keller. Primary Scripture: Luke 18:1–8; 1 Thessalonians 5:17.
Previewing Week 2 of Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God
Read 3 of 7 discussion questions below. Unlock the complete 12-week guide when you’re ready.
Keller begins by making the case that prayer is not optional equipment for the Christian life—it is the very atmosphere in which faith breathes. Let these questions push you past agreeing with that idea and into examining whether you actually live it.
Discussion Questions
7 questions1.Keller argues that all the great figures of Scripture—Moses, David, Paul, and above all Jesus himself—were people of extraordinary prayer. What does Jesus's own prayer life (the fact that the sinless Son of God prayed constantly) tell us about what prayer is for?
2.Keller draws a distinction between prayer as a 'spiritual discipline' (something you add to an otherwise functioning life) and prayer as the very means by which the Christian life operates. How does that distinction land for you? Does your current schedule reflect the second understanding or the first?
3.Keller notes that Jesus in Luke 18 tells his disciples a parable specifically 'to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.' What does it say about the nature of prayer that the main enemy Keller identifies in this chapter is not laziness or busyness but discouragement?
a.What most often discourages you from praying?
b.What would it look like for you to 'not lose heart' in your prayer life this week?