Begin with prayer
Gather together as a community in a comfortable setting. Spend a moment in silence, in the presence of Jesus and each other. Have one person read Ephesians 6v18 over the group and then pray to ask the Holy Spirit to lead and guide your time together.
Weekly debrief/check-in
- What did you take away from the most recent teaching, and how has it added to what God is doing in your life?
- What have been the highs and lows of this past week for you?
- How would you say you’re doing in your spiritual life right now? (Are you feeling close to or distant from Jesus? Is it easy or difficult to hear from the Spirit? Etc.)
Read this overview
With summer upon us, we are heading into a season of busyness when our routines can become inconsistent. Because of this, it’s easy to feel a sense of disconnection from our communities. That’s why our plan for the next stretch of weeks is to deliberately slow down the rhythm of our community practices, taking time to listen to the Holy Spirit on behalf of one another.
According to the Scriptures, the Spirit of God has been present and active from the very beginning of the story. He speaks through people, enables the miraculous to happen, shapes people, and is himself a person. And the fact that the Spirit is a person means that we get to have a relationship with him as we would with any other person.
Prayer is one way that we connect with the Spirit. Most people are familiar with prayer that involves asking God for things, which is definitely valuable. In fact, Jesus taught his disciples to ask God for things! However, if we limit prayer to only the things we say to God, our relationship can become one-sided, and we potentially miss out on what God wants to speak to us through his Spirit. Listening prayer is one way we can learn to hear from the Spirit of Jesus, so that we can understand what he’s saying to us and to those around us.
Talk through the following discussion questions
If listening prayer is new to you, it can feel both daunting and fraught with legitimate questions: What’s it like when the Spirit speaks? How do we know if what we think we hear is actually from God’s Spirit? What if I don’t understand what the Spirit is saying?
If you’ve practiced listening prayer for a while now, these questions may not be as pressing. Your questions may sound more like this: How do I respond faithfully to what the Spirit is saying? Why isn’t the Spirit directly answering my questions? What if I don’t like what God’s Spirit says to me?
Talk through the following discussion prompts to understand where the Community is at with hearing from God’s Spirit.
- Is the idea of hearing from God’s Spirit part of your apprenticeship to Jesus? If not, how does that idea strike you? If so, how long has it been part of your apprenticeship?
- For those who have experience with listening prayer, briefly share what that experience is like for you.
- Whether listening prayer is new to you or is familiar, share what question(s) you have about hearing from God’s Spirit.
Practicing this summer
Hearing from the Spirit of God in listening prayer is not just an individual effort, it’s also communal. And when a group takes time to listen for the sake of one person, the Spirit often speaks in meaningful and powerful ways. That’s why the community practice this summer will be to set aside time each week to listen to the Spirit of Jesus on behalf of each member of your group.
*It’s important to note that the goal of this practice is to strengthen one another and build each other up, edifying each other with what the Spirit wants to communicate. This is not about creating a counseling session, fixing one another, or speaking judgment over anyone in the community.
Over the coming weeks, create a schedule so that each member of the community is covered in listening prayer. Depending on the size of your group, you may be able to listen on behalf of one person each week, or you may need to listen for two or three people (you’ll have until the last week of August to spend time listening).
Each week at community, the person(s) being listened for can share any pressing needs or questions, or areas where they’re seeking wisdom/guidance/encouragement. Then, during the week, the rest of the community members will set aside three times to do listening prayer and write down what they think they hear from the Spirit (at least 10 minutes each time). As you do this, remember that God’s Spirit always speaks in a way that agrees with the Scriptures (both in tone and in substance).
During the next community gathering, share anything you felt the Spirit was saying.
*An outline for listening prayer
If you’re new(er) to listening prayer, approach it with the understanding that it might be a process to become comfortable doing it. Remember that you are trying a new way of connecting with God; even if it’s awkward, you are still taking time to draw near to God, and that’s valuable.
We recommend those who are new to listening prayer to try following this outline:
- Start by acknowledging the Spirit’s presence with you. Ask him to quiet your mind and increase your awareness of what he’s doing and saying.
- If anything is weighing on your mind, share those things with the Spirit. If it’s helpful, picture yourself handing over those burdens to Jesus to hold.
- Invite the Spirit to speak to you on behalf of the person you are listening for, and then sit in silence as you listen. Feel free to ask him something specific to the person’s life or any of these questions:
- What does the Father think of that person?
- Is there a lie that this person is believing about themselves or God?
- What does Jesus want that person to do in this next season of life?
- Is there an encouragement Jesus would like me to say to this person?
- When something (a word, a phrase, a Scripture verse, a moving picture, a song lyric, etc.) comes to mind, write it down, even if you’re uncertain it’s from the Spirit. If the meaning seems clear to you, write it down as well. If it’s not clear, ask God’s Spirit what he wants you to know about it. Write down anything you think the Spirit says.
- If you get to this step, and you don’t think you’ve heard anything, consider the following:
- Are you particularly distracted right now? If so, this happens to everyone at some point. Consider whether this might be a way God is pointing something out to you (e.g., overcommitment, anxiety and stress, avoidance, etc.). Or it could be a reminder that listening prayer takes practice to get proficiency and confidence.
- If you’ve heard something you consider “obvious” (e.g., “God loves you,” your favorite Scripture verse, a recurring idea you’ve previously had), don’t immediately discount it. Hold it with an open hand, viewing it that it could be just your idea, or it could be something God’s Spirit brought to mind. Try asking the Spirit, “What do you want me to know about this?”
- If nothing comes to mind or you just see “blackness,” ask the Spirit, “What do you want me or the person I’m listening for to know about this?” Perhaps this is a way the Spirit is simply inviting you to rest in his presence.
- Before you end your time, take a moment to reflect on your experience of listening prayer. Do your best not to regard your time in terms of success and failure. Approaching God and wanting to hear from him is never a bad thing, even if we leave the time a bit disappointed.
- End your time by thanking the Spirit for his presence with you. Express gratitude for anything specific that stands out to you about your time.
- Be willing to share what you felt the Spirit said to anyone you were listening for. Do this with humility and kindness, remembering that your aim is to build up, encourage, and edify that person.
Close in prayer
End by having someone read Hebrews 1v1-2 as a prayer over the group.
1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.