Prayer Basics. Children

Transcription

1 Prayer Basics for Children Lesson 4 (A children s curriculum resource based on the book Prayer Basics: The Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How of Prayer and brought to you by the National Prayer Center, a ministry of the General Council of the Assemblies of God.) The National Prayer Center Equipping the Church......Answering the Call

2 Prayer Basics For Children Lesson 4: When Should We Pray? All the Time! Lesson Objective: The students will learn that although there should be specific times set aside to pray, they can pray to God any time to express praise and adoration or to talk to Him about needs or concerns they might have. Memory Verse: 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray continually (NIV). Pray without ceasing (KJV). Introduction One of the greatest challenges in our prayer lives can be setting aside time for prayer. While we all know we need to pray, it s easy to let other things crowd it out. Sometimes, however, we can become too rigid in fixing the exact time and the amount of time. Although following a set schedule is a healthy discipline, the important issue is that we take time to pray. Additionally, prayer should be viewed as more than an act or a specific time in our day. It should also be a lifestyle so that we can go through the day in a continual attitude of prayer, offering worship and praise and always being attuned to God s voice. Getting Started Ask: How many of you own a watch? How many of you have a clock of some kind in your room at home? Do you know how many clocks are in your house? (Point to the clock in the classroom.) Clocks are everywhere to remind us of the time, even here at church. In fact, a lot of what we do every day relates to time. We get up at a certain time and get ready for school, we do certain things at specific times of the day, go home at a particular time, eat, watch TV, do homework, and go to bed. Then we get up and do the same routine again. Lesson Focus Ask: Where does prayer fit into all of the stuff we have to do every day? Are we supposed to pray at a certain time? How can we fit prayer into all we have to do each day? (Invite responses.) Let s look at where prayer does fit into everything we do. Where Does Prayer Fit In? Say: It s important to know that God wants His followers to spend time talking to Him in prayer on a regular basis. When Jesus started to teach the disciples about prayer in Matthew 6, He began with the words, When you pray. He didn t say if you pray. So it s pretty clear that

3 praying is something we should do fairly often. However, if you look through the Bible for specific instructions on exactly what time of day we should pray or how long we should pray, you won t find them. There are, however, some examples of times people prayed in the Bible. What Time and How Long? Ask There are lots of things we can pray about, aren t there? In this lesson we will learn that God wants us to pray about anything and everything. He cares about every detail of our lives and the lives of people we care about. Sometimes it s hard to decide what would be a big thing or little thing to pray about. What might be really big to one person is a little thing to another. A lot of things people prayed for in Bible days were pretty big things. Ask a student to read Daniel 6:10. According to this verse, how many times did Daniel pray each day? Say: The prophet Daniel prayed three times a day, every day. However, nothing is said about what times he prayed or how long he prayed. Ask two students to read Mark 1:35 and Luke 6:12. At what times of day did Jesus pray? Explain that Jesus prayed often, sometimes in the early morning, sometimes all night long. Say: Even though we have Daniel s example of how often he prayed and Jesus examples of early and all-night prayers, in most cases Bible characters prayed whenever they faced challenges or decisions at whatever time of day or night that might have been. So the Bible doesn t give us specific information about the time of day we re supposed to pray or how long; but we do know it s important to pray. Pray During Good Times and Bad Times Say: Some people think they should pray only when they re going through some really hard things like when they re sick, need money to pay bills, or when they have big decisions to make. Those are good times to pray, but we also should pray even when things are going well. It s good to keep the communication line open with God all the time, whether good or bad. When we pray regularly, whether for ourselves or for others, we keep our relationship with God strong. That way, if we do face a big challenge, we re already connected with God. Invite students to think about their relationship with their best friend. Ask: How does talking to your friend help keep your friendship strong? (Allow responses.) Do you talk to your friend only when you re having problems? Say: No...we talk to our good friends all the time and about all different parts of our lives. It s nice to have a friend to talk to during hard times, but if hard times were the only times we talked to a friend, it probably would be hard to keep the friendship strong. Say: Our relationship with God is a lot like having a very good friend. God wants to hear about our problems and challenges, but He also wants us to talk with Him when things are going well, too. Prayer keeps our friendship with God strong.

4 Pray When You Are Afraid Invite students to talk about times when they have been really afraid. Consider sharing a personal experience as well. Say: Most of us can think of a time when we were really afraid. Scary things like getting lost, being in an accident, getting really sick or having someone we love get really sick, being hurt or attacked by another person, and many other terrible events can happen in life. The Bible describes a time when Jesus disciples had a frightening experience on the Sea of Galilee. Ask a student to read Mark 4: Let that student review the story or have students take turns reading the verses. Say: Jesus does care when we are afraid. And He is bigger and more powerful than any storm we can face in life, whether it s a storm in nature or some other terrible thing that happens. Often, just like on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus is waiting to see if we will come to Him for help. He can help us through any kind of problem if we will just trust in Him and talk to Him in prayer. (Be sensitive to any students who may be struggling with a fearful issue in their lives. While you want to avoid violating confidence or making anyone feel awkward, encourage the students to take a moment to pray silently about a frightening situation they or someone they know is dealing with. Conclude this prayer time by thanking God for His care and protection.) Pray When the Holy Spirit Says, Pray! Ask if any student can remember and tell the Old Testament story about the young boy Samuel who served a priest named Eli in temple. If not, direct the students to 1 Samuel 3:1-10. Let students take turns reading or review the story with them. While this story does not talk about being called to pray for a need, it does show that God can speak to a child. Say: Samuel learned that God could speak to him in a very direct way. While most of us may never hear God speak in a voice we can actually hear, God can speak to us on the inside since each of us is created to hear His voice. Say: Sometimes the Holy Spirit will speak to a person about a great need in another person s life. Perhaps a friend or family member is very ill or in danger of some kind, and suddenly a Christian hundreds or even thousands of miles away will feel like they should pray for that person. In many cases, the person praying doesn t even know what the need is or why they feel like praying, but they just know that they should pray. Many stories have been told by people going through very difficult times when suddenly everything changed; they were healed or they were saved from danger. (An example is mentioned in Chapter 2 of the Prayer Basics book. You may want to review the account as time permits.) Say: Sometimes the people that were prayed for later learn about a Christian who was awakened in the middle of the night and felt like they should pray for them. That is how the Holy Spirit sometimes works through us in prayer. So, if you feel a really strong urge to pray for someone,

5 the Holy Spirit might be asking you to pray for them. The important thing is to obey. What a joy you might have later on to learn how you helped someone by being obedient to pray for them. Pray Nonstop! Say: The apostle Paul instructed Christians to pray all the time. All the time? Pray every moment of every day? Is that what we re supposed to do? Well no and yes. Ask a student to read 1 Thessalonians 5:17. Say: The King James Version translates this, Pray without ceasing ; the New International Version reads, Pray continually. It sounds like nonstop praying, doesn t it? Say: Paul certainly understood that we cannot pray all hours of the day and night. We can t stay on our knees around the clock. However, he wanted all believers, first of all, never to give up on praying and to always be in an attitude of prayer. Say: Here s how it works: As you go through the day and into the night, it s possible to think about God and thank Him out loud or in your heart for His love and all of the good things He does for you. You can even take a moment to pray for someone in need. Your prayers don t have to be long, and you don t always have to close your eyes. Say: Keeping prayer thoughts in our minds are much better than a lot of other thoughts we can think about. When we keep thinking about God, and give Him praise and worship, it crowds out a lot of the other stuff that isn t good. Also, this makes it possible for us to pray effectively when there is a need. So pray nonstop! Taking It Home Encourage students to think of specific times during the day when they could spend a few moments in prayer. It might be in the morning. It might be during lunch time at school. (Help them remember that they can pray in their hearts whether or not it s possible to kneel or close their eyes.) Or they might pray at night before they go to bed. The important thing is that they set a time to pray, then learn to keep prayer thoughts going all through the day. Distribute copies of the Time To Pray work sheet. Ask students to draw the clock s hands to indicate a time they could spend in prayer each day. They could draw dotted lines for the clocks minute hand that shows the end time. They can also check the A.M. or P.M. box below the clock. Encourage them to post this clock in their room at home as a reminder of when they can pray. Also encourage them to think prayerful thoughts throughout the day and stay in touch with God. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

6 Time To Pray Draw hands on the clock to show a time of the day or evening you can set aside to pray. Place this in your room where you can see it to remind you of your prayer time. Mark the A.M. or P.M. box below the clock. A. M. P. M. Prayer Basics for Children Lesson 4 Work Sheet