Leader Guide

Prayer

We have been discussing how God freely gives to us, and how our response should be to freely give to others. Let’s say our SuperTruth together. “I will freely give what I receive.”

Have children sit in a circle. Why do you think it is difficult to give sometimes? Children answer.

Some reasons are that we can feel selfish or greedy and want to keep what we have; we feel we have earned something and don’t want to share it; we may not think someone else deserves it; we forget that all we have is a gift from God; and we may be afraid that God will not provide what we need in the future.      

Here is what Paul said about giving in 2 Corinthians 9:8: 

And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. 

God is generous with us so we can be generous with others! 

Today, we will begin our prayer by thanking God for all the blessings that He freely gives us. I’ll open with a short prayer and say something I’m thankful for, then we will go around the circle and each of you will thank God for something that He has given freely to you. You simply need to say a word or two, such as “My home,” or “Food.” It is fine to repeat something that someone else has said. 

Dear God, we come to You with hearts full of thanks today. I am very grateful for …

Go around the circle and allow children to name things God has freely given them.       

God is so good to us! Now for the second part of our prayer today, we are going to ask God to remove any wrong attitudes or feelings that may keep us from giving freely as we should. Silently pray along with me. 

Heavenly Father, we are sorry for the things that keep us from giving to others cheerfully. Please forgive us for selfishness, greed or fear. Remind us that You will always provide for our needs, and help us trust You. We enjoy Your blessings every day. We do not earn these blessings; they are a gift through Your Son Jesus. Please give us opportunities to share Your many blessings with others, and help us to give generously and cheerfully, trusting You to provide all that we need. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.