Elizabeth & Zechariah

Group Icebreaker

If you could only listen to one Christmas song for the rest of your life…which one would it be?

Message Questions

Read Luke 1:8-20

The story of Elizabeth and Zechariah teaches us about trusting that God will come through. And in this story, we see Zechariah receive an answer to a prayer he has prayed for a long time. But he still doubt’s that God is actually going to go through with answering this prayer!

  • Why do you think God sent an angel to Zechariah instead of just answering his prayer?

  • Why do you think Zechariah still doubted God even though the angel said God was going to answer his prayer?

  • Do you think God silencing Zechariah because of his doubt was necessary? What do you think this taught Zechariah about doubt?

God often wants to do something through us before He does something for us. This can be hard to understand but God wants to grow us while we wait. He also wants to give us good gifts and answers to our prayers! This might mean we have to wait for some time or go through seasons of doubt to receive the answers we are looking for. But we can always bet on God that He doesn’t waste our waiting.

  • Read Psalm 84:11. Do you believe that God doesn’t withhold good things from us?

  • What are your current struggles with prayer?

  • Do you think that we often can limit God’s power to answer our prayers in big ways by what we ‘expect’ Him to do?

weekly Challenge

Lysa TerKeurst says that “God loves us way too much to answer our prayers at any other time than the right time and in any other way than the right way.” Waiting on God to answer our prayers is frustrating and it can even feel like God doesn’t care or even hear our prayers. It takes a great deal of faith to trust that God does care. That He DOES hear your prayers and cares deeply about them enough to not give you a half answered prayer.

Take some time this week to journal out a prayer of honesty. Telling God how you might feel discouraged or disappointed in how He is or isn’t responding to your prayers. End your time by praying and asking God to increase your faith, that you would trust that He will answer your prayers at just the right time and in just the right way.

Prayer

God,

It can be easy to doubt that our prayers matter. That you hear our prayers detail by detail and care about them enough to answer them. Help us to trust that you have the very best in mind for us when it comes to answering our prayers. Help us to know that you see the whole picture and plan of our lives and you are more than worthy of our trust. Increase our faith God. That we would bring our requests, disappointments, questions, and dreams to you knowing you will provide above and beyond what we are asking.

Thank you for loving us and having a great plan ahead. Amen.

Kaitlyn Sartori