Cornerstone Curriculum, Official Certification Edition - Mentor's Guide

M E N T O R N O T E S / 1 4 7

Always encourage the students to not simply study the word of God, making the most of their critical functions, but also to pray fervently over issues, and so exercise their spiritual gifts and capacities. All the issues we face as leaders will require our specific and ongoing intercession, and by emphasizing this in our lessons we train our students to never study the Bible without reference to the wisdom that only God can provide, the kind that will never make us ashamed but will enable us to represent God in the way he desires (James 1.5-8). Admitting that we do not understand something is never a problem to the Lord; God is beyond us and will provide us with wisdom if we search for it with all our hearts, and not simply with all our minds (Prov. 2.1-9). As the writer to the Proverbs suggests, we are never to lean on our own understanding as if we could conjure up solutions because we thought well (Prov. 3.5-6). Train the students, even after the Word has been consulted, to look to God in prayer. It is not prayer or the Word, but prayer alongside the Word that characterized the ministry of the apostles, and should characterize ours (Acts 6.4). Encourage your students to seek the Lord’s face in prayer and ask him for specific insights, approaches, and solutions to the issues and concerns they face, both in their personal lives as well as their ministries.

& 23 page 288 Counseling and Prayer

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