Prayer

Have children sit on the floor in a circle.

Like the Israelites who built the wall, we have every reason to be filled with joy. Jesus died for us and rescued us from our captivity to sin. He made us righteous in God’s sight and gave us victory over sin and death. We also have eternal life through our Savior, Jesus. The Holy Spirit lives inside us, giving us wisdom and power to face any situation. Even when everything seems to be going wrong on the outside, we can be strong on the inside because God’s joy is our strength! No matter what happens, we can have the confidence and assurance of God’s love, peace, presence, and grace. We are blessed in Jesus Christ!

An important part of prayer is praise, thanksgiving and worship. Here is what the book of Nehemiah tells us happened when the people gathered to worship. 

Read Nehemiah 8:5–6:

Ezra stood on the platform in full view of all the people. When they saw him open the book, they all rose to their feet. Then Ezra praised the Lord, the great God, and all the people chanted, “Amen! Amen!” as they lifted their hands. Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.

Ezra praised God for His greatness, then the people lifted their hands and worshiped the Lord. Today in our prayer time, we are not going to ask God for anything. We are just going to stand in His presence to thank Him and praise Him. What are some reasons to praise Him? His goodness, His greatness, He died to save us, His joy gives us strength.

Those are wonderful reasons to praise Him! Let’s stand and go around the circle, with each person thanking or praising God for something. I’ll start.

If you are comfortable doing so, lift your hands toward heaven as you briefly pray. Allow time for the children to offer their praise and thanksgiving to God. Then close in prayer.  

Dear God, thank You for the Holy Spirit, who lives inside us and teaches us how to pray. We praise You for filling us with Your joy, which gives us strength. In Jesus’ name, Amen!