Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home by Richard Foster
Week 2: Moving Inward — Simple Prayer & Prayer of the Forsaken
Read Chapters 1–2 of Prayer by Richard Foster ("Simple Prayer" and "Prayer of the Forsaken").
Previewing Week 2 of Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home
Read 3 of 8 discussion questions below. Unlock the complete 14-week guide when you’re ready.
Foster begins the journey with the most accessible form of prayer — the raw, unpolished cry of a child — and then immediately confronts us with one of prayer's darkest experiences: the silence of God. Sit with both ends of that spectrum as you discuss.
Discussion Questions
8 questions1.Foster describes 'Simple Prayer' as prayer in which we come to God just as we are — with our self-centered wishes, mixed motives, and cluttered hearts — rather than waiting until we feel spiritually ready. Does this give you permission or make you uncomfortable? Why?
2.Foster uses the image of a child climbing into a parent's lap and chattering away about everything without self-consciousness to describe Simple Prayer. How close is that image to how you actually come to God? What would it take to pray with that kind of unselfconsciousness?
3.Foster says that Simple Prayer is the beginning of the prayer life, not the goal — that God calls us deeper. What do you think 'deeper' prayer might look like beyond simply asking God for things? Does the idea attract or intimidate you?