Prayer
Because the primary goal of our time together is to establish relationships and learn how to walk with one another in all that God has called us to be and do, we’d like to begin by praying for one another. So, does anyone have anything you’d like us to pray for or anything to share regarding how you’ve seen God moving in your life that we can celebrate together?
Opening Question
Who is one person you can call and you know they will answer, no matter the time or complicated situation?
After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill. And his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. And she said to Elijah, “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!” And he said to her, “Give me your son.” And he took him from her arms and carried him up into the upper chamber where he lodged, and laid him on his own bed. And he cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?” Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, let this child’s life come into him again.” And the Lord listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived. And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house and delivered him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives.” And the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”
– 1 Kings 17:17-24
Shutting In
After the widow brought her dead son to Elijah in great desperation and sorrow, Elijah took the boy to his room to pray in private.
The widow’s future provision and security depended on her son’s survival. How did her need make space for God’s provision?
Have you ever carried a dead dream or lost blessing to God? What was that like for you?
Stretching Out
Elijah stretched himself over the boy and prayed a desperate, ragged prayer to God on the widow’s behalf, “O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?” and, “O Lord my God, let this child’s life come into him again.”
Elijah and the widow survived a famine together thanks to God’s miraculous provision earlier in their lives. How does sharing in trials and struggles bond us to one another?
Elijah’s prayer is honest and direct, possibly even a little accusational toward God. Do you find being honest with God difficult when your prayers might not sound pretty or respectful? What does this story show us about the kinds of prayers God accepts from us?
Is there a desperate situation in your life that needs to be stretched over, prayed for, and offered to God? Who could you invite to pray with you for God to resurrect and restore what has been lost?
Standing Up
God responded to Elijah’s prayer and miraculously raised the widow’s son to life.
What do you imagine the widow thought and felt when Elijah brought her son back to her?
Jesus shut himself in with us and all the loss and pain caused by sin by coming as our Messiah. Then he stretched himself out on the cross to defeat death and offer us eternal life.
Consider your time spent with God. When has he invited you to a quiet place, to stretch himself out over you?
If you haven’t experienced this, how can you find time to create a quiet space before God each day for a month? What would it look like for you to bring him your most honest prayers and ask him to respond to you?
Imagine the day you enter eternity and God restores all the people you have lost to you. What do you imagine that will be like? How can imagining the restoration you will experience then shape your daily life now?
Closing Thought
In your final time together, spend some time as a group considering a person or an organization you could stretch yourselves out over. Perhaps God is calling you to care for a neighbor in need or volunteer at an organization. Then make a strategic plan for how you can serve and bless someone in the next month or two.