Prayer Basics for Children (Lesson 2) (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
Prayer Basics For Children Lesson 2: Who Should Pray? Everyone! Lesson Objective: Students will learn that God wants everyone to pray to Him regardless of who they are or how young or old they are. Memory Verse: Colossians 4:2 I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing (NIV). I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands (KJV). Introduction Children often pick up from older children, teens, or adults that they aren t entitled to do certain things because they re too young or inexperienced. While there are many tasks in life that require maturity and experience, anyone, regardless of age, can pray to God. As long as a child is able to communicate verbally, in writing, through sign language, or in some other way, and have some understanding of who God is and that He hears them, that child can pray. And not only are children allowed to pray, they get to pray! Help your students understand that prayer is more than a duty or obligation. It s a privilege. Getting Started Before class, write in large letters, Pray? Who, Me? on the board or on a large sheet of paper. This will set the stage for understanding that they can pray to God, and that through prayer they can receive His help and blessings. See Lesson Application for an activity that will give the students opportunity to respond to this question. Lesson Focus In the first session we learned that every human being on the face of this earth is wired to pray. Each of us has something inside us that makes it possible for us to communicate with God. Since that is true, who should pray? All of us! But isn t prayer just for teens or adults? Does God actually listen to children when they pray? Don t we have to know a lot about God and the Bible to pray the right way? See What the Bible Says Invite the students to look up 1 Samuel 1 and ask a volunteer to read verses 10,11. Question: What did Hannah ask for?
Tell the Story Hannah really wanted to have a baby. She had been hoping for one for a long time. On one of her yearly trips to the temple in Jerusalem with her husband Elkanah, Hannah went into the temple to pray to God for a son. The priest Eli saw her praying, and when he found out that she really wanted to have a son, he told her that her prayer would be answered. And it was! Later she gave birth to a boy. She named him Samuel. Because Hannah was so thankful to God for giving her a son, she decided to give Samuel back to God by having him live and serve in the temple in Jerusalem. So, even while Samuel was still a very young child, Hannah took him to Eli the priest to be raised in the temple and be a servant of God. One night while Samuel was still a boy, something unusual happened. Do you know what it was? Ask a student to read 1 Samuel 3:4. He heard a voice speak to him! Thinking it was Eli the priest, he went to the priest and said, Here I am; you called me (verse 5). But Eli had not called to Samuel. After this happened two more times, Eli realized God was speaking to Samuel. Question: What did Eli tell Samuel to do if he heard God s voice again? He instructed Samuel that if he heard God speak again, he should say, Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening (verse 9). Samuel did that and God gave him a special message to share with Eli. Question: What does this story tell us about people God might speak to today? We can see from this story that God can speak to a young child. Not only that, but God can even give a child an important message to share with someone else. Although you might not ever hear God speak out loud to you, He can speak to that part of you inside that communicates with Him. When that happens, you will know in your heart that God has spoken to you or answered a prayer. Explain that it s important that we all, no matter our age, are ready to hear what God wants to say to us. Question: Have you ever felt like God was speaking to you? (Allow students to share experiences they have had with prayer. Share a personal experience you have had.) Prayer Is for Everyone! Jesus wants all of us to pray. When He started teaching His disciples about prayer in Matthew 6:5-13, He began by saying, When you pray (verse 5). He wanted His followers to know that all of them were to spend time in prayer on a regular basis. Even though we may know that God wants us to pray, there are some reasons people don t do it very often. As we discuss some of these, see if any of them are things you struggle with. (Distribute the Excuses! Excuses! work sheet and ask students to call out reasons people don t pray as you discuss each one. Or you may list the following reasons on the board or a sheet of paper as they are discussed.) Reason 1: I can t think of things to pray about. This is a very common reason many people give as to why they really struggle with prayer. They don t always know what to pray about, so after just a few minutes they run out of anything to say.
In the next chapter we ll zero in on what we should pray about, but something that helps is to make a list of some things that you or your family or friends might need help with. And, of course, it s always important to spend time thanking God for all of the good things He does for you. It s important to understand too that prayer isn t about us talking all the time. Sometimes, like Samuel, we need to listen. Even though we probably won t hear God speak in a voice we can hear with our ears, He does connect with us through our thoughts and feelings. In those times of listening, God can give us direction or ideas that can really help us with challenges or decisions we face. Reason 2: I have too much to do to pray. Another problem is that there are so many things going on that it s hard to fit in time to pray. Question: What are some things you are involved with that might make it difficult to find time to pray? (Invite the students to call out all the different activities they do at home, school, church, sports, etc., that fill up their time each week. List some of the responses on the board. Some things might include homework, sports activities, music lessons, church activities, and video games.) Question: Is there anything that you could spend less time with that would give you more time to pray? (Invite responses.) We usually give time to things that we consider really important. That s why it s important to ask if any of the other things we do are more important than talking with God. While we certainly can t spend every moment in prayer, we must be careful to avoid letting the others things we do crowd out prayer. And even though the Bible doesn t tell us exactly how many minutes or hours we should pray, the important thing is that we take some time during the day to talk to God. Reason 3: It s not my job to pray. Sometimes people don t pray because they don t think it s their job to pray. They might decide it s the pastor s job or their parents responsibility. Or they might think there are other people in the church (mostly older people) who belong to prayer groups that take care of all the praying that s needed. Remember that when Jesus taught about prayer, He said, When you pray Praying is everyone s responsibility. In Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:8-10; and Ephesians 4:11-13, the apostle Paul listed some very important ministry gifts that God wants Christians to develop. (As time allows, let various students look up these passages and identify the gifts that are listed.) These ministry gifts include teaching, serving, encouraging, healing, prophesying, and more. However, Paul doesn t list praying in any one of those letters. Question: Why do you think that this is so? Praying isn t listed as a special ministry gift because praying is something every believer should do. Praying doesn t belong to just certain individuals or groups of people. It is something all of us should do and can do because we are made to talk with God, and God with us, through prayer. Reason 4: I m not a good enough person to pray. There are some people who don t pray because they don t think they re good enough or spiritual enough for God to listen to them. When Jesus was crucified on the cross for our sins, two thieves were being crucified beside Him. One of the thieves realized that Jesus truly was God the Son and asked Jesus to remember him when Jesus returned to heaven. Jesus told the man, Today you will be with me in paradise (Luke 23:43). Even though that man probably had never followed God in all his life, Jesus accepted his trust in Him just before the man died.
If you ve ever felt that you re not good enough to talk with God, just know that He loves you so much that He is ready and willing to hear your prayers anytime. And when you pray, God can help you change some things that might not be pleasing to Him; but He will never refuse to hear your prayers because of something you have done. The important thing is that the who of prayer is you and me! In fact, it s best to think of prayer this way: It s not something we have to do or should do, but something we get to do. Talking to God, giving Him our praise and worship, and telling Him about our needs, is a really special privilege. And when we are truthful and honest about things we pray about, God is very pleased to help us with whatever needs we re facing. Lesson Application The Who Is You! Before class, prepare a simple code for students to use to complete the message The Who Is [student s first name]. Provide a key to the code on the board using numbers or symbols that represent letters. As you direct attention again to the words Pray? Who, Me? that you wrote earlier on the board or sheet of paper, give each student their coded message. Another option is to add the message The Who Is You! on the board or paper and invite the students to write their names below that heading. Say: If taking time to pray each day isn t something you have been doing, this is a good time to start. You will be really glad you did! 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.
Excuses, Excuses! Instruct the students to unscramble the words below the blanks to discover excuses people give for not praying. 1. I can t of to pray about. kihtn igsthn 2. I have too to do to. cmhu ypar 3. It s not my to pray. bjo 4. I m not to pray. odgo ouhneg Prayer is for! RYOVEENE The Who of prayer is You! Prayer Basics for Children Lesson 2 Work Sheet