Train Your Heart To Trust
Pastor Steven Furtick
Sermon Summary
What if the thing you've been worrying about could become the thing you pray about? Trusting God doesn't mean you'll never feel afraid, it means you don't have to carry your fear by yourself. The next time your mind starts rehearsing everything that could go wrong, turn the worry into a prayer and remind yourself: You have a Father who knows what you need.
Sermon Highlights
You never graduate from the need to trust God.
The moment you gave your life to Christ, the devil has been waging a campaign, but God has been training you for this.
I believe that He saved me, but I need Him to sustain me.
If you have been worrying about something lately, you're halfway to praying.
When David took it to heart instead of taking it to God, he was afraid.
Prayer is not changing what you're talking about, it's just changing who you're talking to.
The next time your heart wants to worry, train it to pray.
Worry is a prayer to yourself.
When God wants to train your trust, He gives you (1) a truth, and (2) a trouble. Put the truth on the trouble.
Worry is when you remember that you have a problem and forget that you have a Father.
You don't stay worried when you worry with God.
He uses the trouble to prove the truth.
Scriptures
Read this week’s Scriptures. Ask your group what stands out to them.
Sermon Discussion
Conversation Starter
Choose the one that works best for your group!
Pastor Steven joked about having “airport anxiety” whenever he travels. Are you an airport-three-hours-early person or a running-to-the-gate person?
Pastor Steven told us the story of his dad giving him hair “spikes.” What’s a hairstyle you had growing up that you thought looked amazing at the time?
For The Girls: If you were at Reflect, share some of your takeaways and favorite memories!
Highlights Questions
“You never graduate from having to trust God.” How has God used different seasons in your life to grow your trust in Him?
“If you have been worrying about something lately, you’re halfway to praying." What worry could you turn into a prayer today?
“When God wants to train your trust, He gives you a truth and a trouble. Put the truth on the trouble.” What’s a truth about God that you can have ready for when trouble comes your way?
Additional Questions
“I believe that He saved me, but I need Him to sustain me.” Where in your life do you most need to depend on God to sustain you right now, and what would that dependence look like practically?
“Worry is a prayer to yourself.”
What do you tend to do when you catch yourself worrying, and how could you use that moment as an invitation to pray instead?
Where have you been putting pressure on yourself to have an answer that you need to trust God with instead?
Prayer Prompt
Ask your eGroup if they have any prayer requests or praise reports they’d like to share, and include them in your closing prayer.
Pray this prayer over your eGroup to close, and/or send it to them throughout the week to let them know you’re praying for them!
Lord, we declare You are Jehovah Jireh. You’re our good Father who knows all our needs. Help us invite You into our worries this week and turn them into prayers. Teach us to put Your truth on every trouble we face as You continue to train our heart to trust You. When we feel trapped, overwhelmed, afraid, and full of doubt, remind us that You’re our Provider. Like David, we will trust in You and not be afraid. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Additional Content
Here’s some additional content you can use to encourage your group this week.
“Jireh”
When you start to worry this week, listen to this song by Elevation Worship & Maverick City as a reminder that you have a Father and a Provider who knows all your needs.
Go Deeper: Miktam Activity
There are only six miktams (or michtams) in the Bible: Psalms 16, 56, 57, 58, 59, and 60. While the exact translation for miktam remains a mystery, many scholars link it to the word nakamu, which refers to a protective covering. As Pastor Steven taught us, miktams are reserved for the prayers we pray when we’re trapped. They start in crisis, but end in confidence, which is what happens when we worry with God.
eGroup Activity: Using a piece of paper and a pen (or a notes app), practice writing out your own miktam. Start with your “crisis,” detailing what you're going through and how it’s making you feel. Then, end with confidence, declaring who God is and how you’re trusting Him through it.