Teaching

A Pattern to Follow: Discuss praying as Jesus did.

Let’s say our SuperTruth together: “I will pray as Jesus did.” 

Raise your hand to share in your own words what it means to pray. Call on a few children to share their ideas of what prayer means to them.

From the beginning of His ministry on Earth, Jesus always took time to pray to His Father. As news of Jesus began to spread, crowds followed to hear Him preach and to be healed. Does this mean Jesus was so busy that He no longer had time to pray? No, Jesus still spent time alone with His Father to gain strength and to receive God’s will and instructions. (See Luke 5:15–16,19; John 12:49.) The disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. He responded by sharing a pattern or model of prayer called the Lord’s Prayer. Let’s read the first part of the Lord’s Prayer on your bookmarks.   

Choose a volunteer to read aloud verse 9 on the bookmark.

Jesus told us to address God as our Father in heaven. This is an important key to our relationship with Him and to pray unselfishly, with confidence and faith. Instead of saying “My Father,” we say “Our Father,” reminding us that we are God’s children. You not only pray for yourself, you also pray for others and begin to put their needs above your own.

The word used for Father is the Hebrew word “Abba,” which can be translated, “Daddy.” When we come to God, we don’t come to someone who is distant, disconnected, and uncaring; we come like little children to a loving Father or Daddy. He is in heaven, yet His Spirit lives in us. Through prayer, we have a close relationship and loving communication with God.  

The word hallowed means holy. Even though we talk to God as a close friend, He is holy and set apart from everyone and everything. He is above all and He alone is worthy of our worship, service and praise. We must never treat God as if He is our servant or as if we are equal to Him. He has no equal, and we must always show Him the proper respect, honor and reverence by our words and actions.           

Choose a volunteer to read aloud verse 10:

Imagine what heaven is like for a minute. Is there any sickness? Is there any death? Is there any suffering, or crying, or loneliness? No, everything is perfect in heaven. No one is sick or hurt or upset. When we pray that God’s will be done on Earth as it is in heaven, we are asking God to do His perfect will here in the world just as it is always done up in heaven.

Choose a volunteer to read aloud verse 11:

God knows what we need even before we ask; yet, He wants us to come to Him and share our needs with Him. By doing this, we demonstrate our trust and dependence on Him. He is the source of all good things. (See Matthew 6:8; James 1:17.) Daily bread does not just mean a slice of bread. Bread actually means anything we need to live—physically, spiritually and emotionally. What are some things we need to live every day, in addition to food? A place to live, clothes to wear, etc.

Jesus called Himself the Bread of Life, and we pray for more of Him in our lives! (See Matthew 4:4; John 6:35.)

Choose a volunteer to read aloud verse 12:

In this verse, Jesus tells us to pray for forgiveness for our own sins as we also forgive people who have sinned against us.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:14:    

Choose a volunteer to read aloud verse 13a:

Temptation in this verse means to be tested; or to be put to the test. A modern translation (NLT) of this verse says:

God does not lead us into temptation—He shows us a way out! We are asking God to save us through the times of trial that come in our lives. (See 1 Corinthians 10:13.)

Satan tries to tempt us, trap us, and trip us up. There are also bad things in this world that can tempt us to walk away from God. Plus, we are all sinners, and we can all make bad choices without anyone else’s help. Sometimes we can be our own worst enemy! And so we pray that God delivers us and protects from all kinds of evil.

The Lord’s Prayer ends with what is called the Doxology, verse 13b:

This is God’s kingdom. Everything belongs to God; all power and all glory are due Him. Whatever ability, power and authority we have comes through Him. We cannot take any credit, for we can do nothing without God. When we pray, we are to humbly acknowledge this and to worship and give all honor and praise to Him.  

Earlier, we learned that prayer is conversation and communion with our heavenly Father. Choose a volunteer to stand about 6 feet from you. Quietly instruct him/her to bat the balloon back to you even when you turn your back. 

{Volunteer’s name} will represent God.

Hold up a balloon. These balloons represent my prayers.

Face the volunteer, bat the balloon toward the volunteer, and then turn your back and walk away. The balloon will be returned, but you will not see it.

Was this communing with God—was there an exchange between us? No!

Sometimes, our prayers begin to resemble this. We quickly tell God what we need and want—and then we walk away! Repeat it again with the second balloon.

God responded; yet, I wasn’t listening. I didn’t receive it. Point to balloons on the floor.      

Let’s do it differently. Bat the balloon back and forth with the volunteer.

Is this more like the communion and conversation Jesus is teaching about? Yes! 

There was an exchange between us. I didn’t just walk away after I prayed.

Prayer isn’t shouting our needs to God—it is spending time with Him as we share our heart, and He shares His heart with us. 

Conclusion: God loves and cares for us deeply because He made us, and we are His children. Prayer is how we talk to Him and have a close relationship. Jesus never intended for us to rattle off the Lord’s Prayer, or any prayer, as quickly as we can, without thinking about what we are saying. Prayer is a thoughtful and intimate conversation with God that can happen anytime, anywhere—and that’s a great reason to keep praying, always. It’s like having a conversation with a close friend. As we do this, we begin to understand His will, not only for us personally, but for His entire kingdom.

In our Discipleship Challenge today, we’ll learn more about the different parts of The Lord’s Prayer and how to use Jesus’ pattern to energize our prayers with power! 

Discipleship Challenge/Practical Application

Give children pencils to write their names on the back of the bookmarks. Display the model bookmark so children can see the finished craft. Give each child a piece of yarn and demonstrate how to insert and tie it to the bookmark. Give each child a small piece of tape with three mustard seeds stuck to it. Show how to turn the tape over and tape the seeds in the rectangle on the bookmark. Assist children as necessary.  

God’s plan in the beginning was to walk and talk with His children as He did with Adam and Eve in the Garden. Sadly, sin entered the world and separated us from God. The scarlet or red yarn represents Jesus and His blood shed for us to save us from our sin and to restore our relationship with God. Through Jesus, we can boldly come into our heavenly Father’s presence and commune with Him.

What did Jesus say the mustard seeds represent? Even a small amount of faith can do great things or move mountains.

Matthew 17:20 is written above the seeds for you to look up and read as a reminder that even small faith can do amazing things.

Hold up your bookmark. The Lord’s Prayer is divided into three sections on your bookmarks; one for each lesson of this course. Choose a volunteer to read section #1, Matthew 6:9–10. For this lesson your challenge is to pray verses 9–10 each day, and if possible, memorize it beginning with “Our Father.” Think about the meaning as you pray and speak from your heart. The second part of this challenge is to pray that section in your own words. Talk to God as your loving Father or Daddy; honor and worship His holy name from your heart as you come into His presence. Pray for Him to reveal His will for you. Ask Him to give you the strength to obey Him and to live for Him, according to His Word. Pray in your own words for others to know Him and begin to do His will, so His kingdom expands on Earth and He receives the glory and honor!

The next time we meet, you will have a chance to share your experience with the challenge and say the Lord’s Prayer from memory if you can. Place this bookmark inside your Bible and use it as you read God’s Word, or use it in another book you may be reading.