Prayer as a Pathway to Joy (Psalm 16)

 
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TEXT: Psalm 16:1-11
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King David was a man who experienced discouragements, sufferings, various sin struggles, and distractions. Yet he knew the pathway to joy in Christ through prayer. Psalm 16 is a prayer in which David brings his soul from a place of discouragement to delight. In doing so, he gives us some great truths about the character of God to motivate us to a life of joyful prayer. 

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  1. HEAD: Questions aimed at our minds to help us understand God’s word.

    • How would you describe the progression of David’s emotion throughout the Psalm? Where does he start? Hoe does he end? What truths about God lead him through this journey?

    • Take some time to read 2 Samuel 7:12 and then Acts 2:30-32. How does this inform your understanding of Psalm 16 (specifically, verse 10)?

  2. HEART: Questions aimed at our affections to help us love God.

    • True prayer is taking refuge in God, which demands we acknowledge our insufficiencies. Why is this so hard for us? What areas of your life are you prone to self-sufficiency?

    • In Verse 7, David says his heart instructs him in the night? What does David mean by this? How can you teach your heart to instruct you?

  3. HANDS: Questions aimed at our hands to help us live for God (Personally, Communally, and Missionally).

    • Tale sometime to evaluate your prayer-life in light of Psalm 16. How can David’s pathway of prayer transform the way you pray? How does the truth of the Gospel motivate you to pray?

    • Read verse 11. How does this verse affect your everyday prayer life? What priorities need to shift in light of this verse?

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