Leader Guide
Prayer
Recruit a helper - such as a sixth grader - for the demonstration below. Explain that you will pretend to call him or her on the telephone, and that as you keep talking and asking questions, he or she should try very hard to answer, but you will not give him or her a chance to say a word. Tell the helper that when you “hang up,” he or she should look very puzzled and hurt, then “hang up,” too.
Practice the monologue below or make up your own.
God loves us and wants to hear from us every day. What are some times and places that we can pray? Anytime and anywhere: at school, home, meals, bedtime.
What kinds of things does God want us to tell Him? Everything: our hopes, fears, requests for others.
Ask your helper to come up front.
God is our Father in heaven who loves us dearly and wants to spend time with us. We can talk to Him like a friend. But how would our friends feel if we talked to them like this?
Make up your own monologue or use the one below, speaking quickly with no pauses. Pretend to make a phone call:
Ring, ring! Hello, helper’s name! This is your name. How is your health—I’m fine but my roof is leaking. How is your job going—mine is great, although my boss is grouchy sometimes. How is your family—my cousin is out of work and my aunt needs a wheelchair because she has a bad back. Say, could you do me a favor; actually, I need you to do a few things for me. Can you get me a new roof, can you get my cousin a job, can you get my aunt a wheelchair, and can you tell my boss to be nicer to me. Okay, I’ve got to run. Nice to talk to you! Bye-bye! Click! As you pretend to hang up the phone, your helper looks hurt and perplexed.
Now tell me, what did I do wrong in that conversation? Didn’t listen.
Ask the helper: How did you feel when I was talking to you like that? The helper answers.
What if we talked to God like that—if we told Him what we’re thinking and gave Him a list of things to do, but we didn’t stop to listen to what He wants to say to us?
Do you think God wants to speak to us? Yes.
What are some ways He can speak to our hearts? As we pray, read the Bible, listen to Christian music, learn a lesson in Sunday school.
Would God ever tell us, “I hate you,” or “You’re ugly,” or “Go hurt that person”? No, never!
What kinds of things do you think God wants to tell us? He loves us; He has good things planned for us to do; He will help us face any problem; He will provide for us; He wants us to forgive someone or ask someone’s forgiveness.
God wants us to know that He loves us; we are precious to Him; and we should love others. Let’s take some time to pray and listen right now.
Pray: Father, we love You and we want to spend time with You. We are thankful that You always hear and answer our prayers. Please remind us to take time to listen for Your voice in our hearts. Allow a few moments of quiet listening. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
You may also ask: Did anyone hear God say something in your heart?