EVERY YOUNG MAN’S TRUTH(Your Personal Journey into God’s Word)
This week’s reading assignment:
chapters 15–16 in Every Young Man, God’s Man
I kept pedaling and pedaling, and five and a half hours later I crossed the finish line, crying for my mama. I finished a respectable sixty-first, which was in the middle of the pack. But more important, I learned a huge lesson. All I had to do was get on the bike, strengthen my legs, and let them carry me to the end.
Mountain biking is all about power and performance, and if you’ve got no power, you’ve got no performance.…
Power is a good thing, and prayer is the outlet that God has chosen to connect you to His vast reservoir of power.
—from chapter 15 in Every Young Man, God’s Man
EVERY YOUNG MAN’S TRUTHPressure and prayer. They really are related, as you’ll see in this session. Logically, it makes sense: when trouble hits, you go to God.
Sadly, many of us make a pit stop first. We first try to engineer our way out. We throw all our own power at the problem. Then, if things don’t work out, we come before God with hat in hand.
Is it just a sign of laziness? “Why are you sleeping?” Jesus asked His friends when they should have been praying. Is He asking you the same tough question?
Be still, and know that I am God. (Psalm 46:10)
Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.” (Luke 22:39-46)
Do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while,
“He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith.
But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved. (Hebrews 10:35-39)
1. In a typical day, when are you still before God?
2. According to Jesus, how does prayer relate to our temptation battles?
3. How does God view your willingness to persevere in tough times? Why?
4. How would you like to improve your prayer life? What first step could you take today?
Section I: focus on chapter 15. Note: for an eight-week study, include Section II starting on this page.
EVERY YOUNG MAN’S CHOICE
We cannot fathom how many lives are affected every day by Google. Yet all of that astonishing power cannot come close to the storehouse of personal spiritual power available to you as God’s young servant, which is made possible through the power of prayer.… There is a living spiritual engine within you that can search the mind of God for …
Josh’s scenario is typical of most young men when it comes to prayer: it took a crisis situation before it even dawned on him to talk to God in prayer. Let’s put it this way: Josh was certainly mindful of God when he needed something or when he was in a setting that called for prayer, like during chapel or when his Bible study was finishing up. He realizes that his dialogue with God is shallow and selfish most of the time (like today), but he can’t seem to work in more conversations with God.
Do you ever wonder what the Creator thinks when He views this kind of prayer life? Isaiah heard it loud and clear: “And so the Lord says, ‘These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me’ ” (Isaiah 29:13, NLT).
5. Think about the Google-smashing power of God within you as you prayerfully read Ephesians 3:20. Then go over Kenny’s list of ten needs that God’s power can meet. Which of these needs are pressuring you right now?
6. How is your prayer life like or unlike Josh’s?
7. Kenny says, “Prayer is the power that fuels the performance of your faith.” What comment, question, or personal experience does this bring to your mind?
EVERY YOUNG MAN’S WALK God is waiting for you to access His awesome strength. Everything is just a prayer away. If you’re clueless to the personal benefits of prayer, or in too much of a hurry to slow down and get into the practice of prayer, here’s what you need to know: your network card was installed in you at salvation, and talking to God is done wirelessly. So what are you waiting for?
Prayer, for you, is a secret power, an adventure in trusting the living God. When a young man recognizes this privilege, he moves beyond the task of prayer to the treasure of being present with God. As Scripture says, “A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else!” (Psalm 84:10, NLT)
8. Imagine God waiting for you to connect with Him in prayer. Are you mostly …
___ “clueless to the personal benefits of prayer”?
___ “in too much of a hurry to slow down and get into the practice of prayer”?
___ ready to slow down for God in a prayer relationship?
9. How can Kenny call being present with God a treasure? What is this treasure’s value to you, based on your prayer practices?
10. Rewrite Psalm 84:10 in your own words.
11. What for you was the most meaningful concept or truth in chapter 15 of Every Young Man, God’s Man? How would you talk this over with God? Write down your response as a prayer to Him. What do you believe God wants you to do in response to this week’s study?
EVERY YOUNG MAN’S TALKKey Highlights from the Book for Reading Aloud and Discussing
Josh reviewed how his day was going so far. Let’s see. First the test—no better than a B-minus or C for sure. Then my parents—I’ll have to fake like I’m doing good in school. I’ll have to work to pay for those Christmas presents—and that Cindy—oh, mama. Not good. What next? How did I get here? He pocketed his cell phone, took a huge breath, and cupped his face in his hands. Lord, what do I do?
For Jesus, quick connection and quality relationship was an oxymoron—two totally contradictory ideas that don’t go together. The message to Martha was simple: You can’t connect with Me on the fly! He wouldn’t cheat Martha’s sister, Mary, out of their time together by cutting it short. But I know plenty of young men who have cut Jesus short on prayer because they simply don’t know how to slow down, relax, and talk with their Savior about stuff.
Trying to manage your life without praying is like trying to ride a bike with flat tires. It can be done, but life is sure going to be tiring, laborious, and no fun. You certainly can’t enjoy the ride or feel the wind in your face. Only a total dork would choose to do that, but that is exactly what you are choosing to do if you neglect the power of prayer.
Discussion Questions
An opening question: Which parts of these chapters were most helpful or encouraging to you? Why?
A. Ever had a day like Josh’s? How much do you pray on those kinds of days? on normal days? on good days?
B. Ask one of the guys to read aloud the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-42. How deeply has Jesus’s message to these women—that you can’t connect with Me on the fly—sunk into your own heart?
C. Who in your group will admit to living like a dork (according to Kenny’s definition)? What could help you repair those flat tires on your prayer bike?
D. A key point in this study session is that Jesus wants to be with you. How does this make you feel?
Section II: focus on chapter 16.
Note: if you’re following a twelve-week track, save the rest of this lesson for the following week. If you’re on the eight-week track … then keep going.
EVERY YOUNG MAN’S CHOICE After Miss Trench Coat’s unexpected appearance, however, I felt like Daniel in a pagan palace asked to swallow food offered to idols. I could not stomach this, nor could I participate in it. But what else could I do? It was just me against a tidal wave of testosterone.
God taught me a powerful lesson that day: pressure is a good thing, because it never leaves you where it finds you. What I mean is that there were only two directions I could have taken. I could have joined in the fun and compromised. Or I could make the best stand under the circumstances and fight with the tools God gave me. In the end, I faced ninety minutes of pressure—from the announcement during dinner to the striptease act, but I received a clear view of God’s awesome power.
12. If you had been Kenny in the Miss Trench Coat crisis, what do you think you would have done?
13. What have you learned about pressure so far in your life? How did you learn these things?
14. Kenny says you need God’s overpowering strength with you to equalize the pressure being put on you by the world, the dark side, and the devil. Look at the fifteen pressures he lists on this page. Think: Which of these are my own pressures and struggles? What pressures would I add to this list? What scriptures in this session could help me apply an equalizer?
EVERY YOUNG MAN’S WALK When I realized that I led a parade of none, I stomped up to my room on the second floor, my blood boiling and my mind spinning. Part of me wished that I was still on the other side so I wouldn’t have this intense battle raging inside. The other part of me said, Fight!
When similar situations come your way, think of how God wants to use this pressure to make you a new man. Most young men have a one-sided view of pressure, temptation, and trials—a negative one. But that’s how the world, the dark side, and Satan want you to see it. God wants you to see it His way.
15. When have you felt like Kenny as he stomped back to his room? What do you usually do when you are feeling yanked between the other side and the call to fight?
16. What positive results did Kenny experience because of his choices about Miss Trench Coat? What does this tell you about the role of pressure in a guy’s life?
17. What for you was the most meaningful concept or truth in chapter 16 of Every Young Man, God’s Man? How would you talk this over with God? Write down your response as a prayer to Him. What do you believe God wants you to do in response to this week’s study?
EVERY YOUNG MAN’S TALKKey Highlights from the Book for Reading Aloud and Discussing
Suddenly, a searing thought landed like a grenade in a foxhole: Pray Miss Trench Coat out of there.
God’s plan to make you a man doesn’t include a provision to remove you from pressure. In fact, He’s most likely to throw you into pressure-packed situations, because He knows that will increase your faith and grow your character in Christ. More often than not, you’ll have to choose God and trust Him with the results. God tests you because you’re still growing up.
You’ll likely experience ups and downs and the occasional face plant, but that’s okay because you aren’t perfect (nor am I). Only one man scored a perfect ten on earth, and He’s not you! So just chill out and cut yourself some slack, because God certainly does. Listen to His encouraging voice speak to your journey … Proverbs 24:16 … Philippians 2:12-13 … Philippians 1:6 … Proverbs 4:18.
Discussion Questions
An opening question: Which parts of this chapter were most helpful or encouraging to you? Why?
E. Kenny prayed Miss Trench Coat out of the room. Talk about the power of prayer for a few minutes. Do you have any personal stories to share about this?
F. Name some things that grow stronger under pressure. Then read 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 and discuss how God’s young man can grow stronger under pressure.
G. When have you done a face plant under pressure in the past? How could Proverbs 24:16, Philippians 2:12-13, Philippians 1:6, and Proverbs 4:18 help at a time like that?
H. Kenny tells us that perseverance under pressure pleases God. Then he lists nine ways to equalize that pressure. Look at each item on his list and tell whether you have ever tried it yourself. What happened?
I. English evangelist Charles H. Spurgeon said: “I owe more to the fire and hammer and file than anything else in my Lord’s workshop.” If Spurgeon were to visit your group right now, would you give him a high-five for this statement? Why or why not?