Leader Guide

Prayer

Have you ever wondered how to pray?

The disciples did! When they saw Jesus praying, they asked Him to teach them to pray. See Luke 11:1.

Here is the prayer Jesus taught His followers in Matthew 6:9b–13. Feel free to substitute the version your church uses.

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Have you ever prayed a prayer like this in church?

Do you know what it’s called? The Lord’s Prayer.

Christians around the world pray this same prayer, although they say it in many different languages. Now I’ll use a modern version of the Bible* to say each phrase, then you tell me what you think it means:

Our Father in heaven, ... help us to honor Your name. ... Come and set up Your kingdom, ... so that everyone on earth will obey You, as You are obeyed in heaven. ... Give us our food for today. ... Forgive us for doing wrong, ... as we forgive others. ... Keep us from being tempted ... and protect us from evil. ... The kingdom, the power, and the glory are Yours forever. ... Amen.*

Let’s make this our prayer today!

Pray from Scripture or use your own words, pausing between phrases so children can think about the meaning:

*Contemporary English Version