Providence and Prayer (Genesis 24)
Group Guides | Sharing the gospel, sharing our lives (1 Thessalonians 2:8)
By way of introduction: How do people try and make sense of what happens in our world, even to them, without knowledge of God?
To look at the passage as a whole and the doctrine of providence, you can listen to Sunday’s sermon here: reformingchurch.org/sermons/the-providence-of-god-genesis-24
For our time as a group, we’re going to see how the providence of God encourages and equips us to pray.
1. Abraham’s chief servant knows he lives in the real world where everything doesn’t always work out the way we’d like it to in the moment we are in. Discuss where from the episode we see this, and what he understands about human responsibility (hints in verses 5, 8, 12, 21, 33, 39, 49, 56, 58)
2. What is Abraham’s confidence that he disciples his chief servant in, and how does that shape how the servant prays?
3. The people closest to us, learn from us – they are discipled by us. How does seeing that in Genesis 24, and knowing this for those we relate to, shape the way we pray?
4. In the daily things of life, trusting in the providence of God, discuss the timing of when the servant prays, and how this teaches us to pray.
5. Knowing that every page of the Bible points to Jesus, how does Genesis 24 show us Christ (Some helps may be, Ephesians 1:9–10, 5:27; Romans 8:28)
6. How does God’s providence give us comfort in our difficulties and courage for our ministry as a church, and fill our prayers?
Pray for one another and our church, that we would live by faith in the providence of God, in the trials and joys of today.
Prayer points for people…
