God, tell me a story about…prayer

From the Gospels

“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,”

Hebrew 12: 28

Today’s story is from The Gospels

1 – When the disciples asked Jesus how to pray, what did Jesus answer? (Read Matthew 6:5-13)

Try to think back to the different things we talked about in KidVenture over the last couple weeks. We talked about how prayer is communicating (or talking) with God. We talked about how our prayers should be honest and humble. We should talk to God like we talk to our best friend or parents. Just as David did in the Psalms. Honest and humble communication brings us closer to God.

2 – In Matthew 6:5, Jesus refers to hypocrites and pagans. Were their prayers honest and humble? Why or why not?

3 – Over the last couple weeks we also saw that our prayers should include: praising God, thanking God, asking help for ourselves, asking help for others and confessing our sins. Do you recognize any of these in the Lord’s Prayer? Where?

4 – The gospels allow us to see how Jesus lived while he was on earth. There are several verses which refer to prayer. Let’s review a few of them to see what we can learn about how Jesus prayed.

– Luke 9:28

– Luke 6:12

– Luke 5:16

– Mark 8:6

When we read through the gospels we see that Jesus prayed often, he prayed alone, he prayed with others, he said short prayers and long prayers, he prayed to say thank you, he prayed for wisdom, he prayed for strength. He prayed to connect with his father. His prayers were honest and humble.

5 – What do your prayers like look?

This week’s challenge

Let’s use our bibles. Look up the verse and then draw a line to the corresponding item.

  • psalm 34:1                           – Listen
  • James 5:14                           – Confession
  • Romans 10:17                     – Praise
  • Philippians 4:6                    – Thanksgiving
  • Psalm 107:1                         – Request for others
  • Psalm 115:1                         – Request for ourselves
  • Luke 11:28                           – Praise
  • 1John 1:9                              – Confession
  • Numbers 21:7                      – Request for others
  • Psalm 5:3                              – Request for ourselves
  • Psalm 32:5                            – Listen