2 nd /3 rd Grade This Thing Called Prayer Teach Us to Pray Lesson 1 Bible Verse When Jesus had finished praying, one of his disciples said to him, Lord, teach us to pray. (Luke 11:1) Teacher Enrichment This lesson begins a ten week series entitled Teach Us to Pray. Arcola UMC s mission statement is We make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. The mission statement goes on to provide a description of a disciple of Jesus Christ including a list of actions (see arcolachurch.org/im-new/what-we-believe for the full list). A disciple prays is on this list. If Arcola Church creates disciples of Jesus Christ and a disciple of Jesus Christ prays, then it is our job to teach people how to pray! This, of course, includes teaching the children of Arcola Church. The Teach Us to Pray series will focus on deepening our relationship with God through prayer. We will emphasize the practice of prayer using The Lord s Prayer. Each week will examine a stanza of The Lord s Prayer, what it tells us about God and how it directs our prayer life. For children, this means exploring who God is and the love, direction, blessings and forgiveness He provides. We will teach children that prayer is talking to God and explore the many ways to have that conversation. Today s lesson is an introduction and overview of prayer before we delve into the specifics of The Lord s Prayer next week. Children who attend church have surely heard of prayer. In worship and Sunday school children recite prayers or hear others pray, but do they pray on their own? Do they understand why they should pray? This lesson will explain that praying is how we communicate with God and we all have many reasons to talk to God! As you approach this Sunday, consider your own prayer life. When do you pray? Why do you pray? How do you pray? Answering these questions will help as you discuss these topics with the children.
Before Class Begins Place the Sign In sheet and a pen where parents can see it upon arrival. Place the Joy & Concern cards, Time & Talent cards and pens where students can see them upon arrival. Check that you have supplies for this lesson: Arrival Activity, The Power of Prayer Decode 1 per child 20 game Place an arrival activity at each place on the table. Set up 20 game. You will need cards, three pocket charts, draw cards, a bucket and question cards. Place the 20 game title at the top of a pocket chart. Arrange all twenty cards on this pocket chart. This is the main game board. Place all draw cards in the bucket. Place the Team One title and the Team Two title on the other pocket charts. Display them one to each side of the main game board. These are the team boards. Keep the question cards to the side. You will read these to the teams during the game. Welcome SUPPLIES: Sign In sheet, Joy & Concern cards, Time & Talent cards, Attendance chart, stickers, pens, The Power of Prayer Decode, The Power of Prayer Solution Greet each child individually as they arrive. Introduce yourself by name. Help children find or add their name on the attendance chart. Provide each child with a sticker to place in today s column on the attendance chart. Encourage children to complete a Joy or Concern card if they have a particular joy or concern they would like to express. Collect completed Joy & Concern cards. Encourage children to complete a Time or Talent offering card if they gave their time to God or used their talents to serve God or others during the previous week. Children should keep their own completed Time and Talent cards. If children bring monetary offering, they should keep it with them. Direct children to complete The Power of Prayer Decode. Teach Us to Pray Lesson 1
Encourage conversation among the children and with you! Get to know the children in your classroom by asking about their week including school, activities and families. Introduce new children to each other and encourage friendships. Children s Worship SUPPLIES: Sign In sheet, Joy & Concern cards, Time & Talent cards Arrive at Ruth Hall at 9:20 or 11:05. Bring the Sign In sheet and completed Joy & Concern cards to Ruth Hall. Hand the Joy & Concern cards to the Children s Worship leader as you arrive. Have children bring their completed Time & Talent cards and any monetary offering. If additional children arrive while in Ruth Hall, have parents complete the Sign In sheet and remind parents that pickup is in Room 105. Encourage children to participate in Children s Worship and provide re-direction if necessary. Assist the Children s Worship leader as needed. At the conclusion of Children s Worship, have children line up and return to Room 105. The Lesson SUPPLIES: 20 game SAY: We learned today that prayer is our means of communicating with God. There are many reasons and ways to pray. Today we are going to play a game that will explore reasons that people pray. Divide the class into two teams. Decide who goes first. Explain the rules of the game. Give a child from Team 1 a multiple choice question from the Game Questions list. If they answer correctly, their team can choose a draw card from the bucket. Once a draw card is chosen, leave it out of the bucket. Teacher Tip When creating teams try counting off by the number of teams you need. Teach Us to Pray Lesson 1
Pick Cards: Team selects that number of cards from the main game board. As a team, they must give a specific example for the reason to pray before adding the card to their team board. Take Cards: Team removes that number of cards from the other team s board and replaces them on the main game board. As a team, they must give a specific example for the reason to pray before adding the card back to the main game board. If the other team does not have any cards to take, the turn is over. Steal Cards: Team steals that number of from the other team s board and places them on their team board. As a team, they must give a specific example for the reason to pray before adding the card to their team board. If the other team does not have any cards to steal, the turn is over. Repeat with Team 2 and then continue to take turns until all cards have been moved from the main game board to team boards. The same example of a reason to pray cannot be reused. The team with the most cards on their team board at the end of the game is the winner. If you run out of questions before all the cards have been moved, continue to allow teams to draw cards and give examples. If all cards are moved before you ve read all the questions, ask the remaining questions to the class as a whole. While the game is going on, encourage discussion of the reasons to pray. Tips for the Discussion When an example of a reason to pray is given, occasionally ask if any of them have personally prayed for that reason. If so, are they willing to share the particulars with the group? Encourage all team members to give examples. There will always be leaders on a team who enthusiastically participate. When you notice a team member keeping quiet, specifically ask them for the example the next time it s their team s turn. (If a child is particularly shy, encourage them, but never force an answer or embarrass them.) Teach Us to Pray Lesson 1
If there is time, ask the children if anyone has anything else to add to today s discussion. Ensure everyone has had a chance to express their thoughts. Closing Lead the children in a closing prayer. You may say your own prayer, ask one of the children to say a prayer or use the one below. God, Thank you for guiding our learning today. Help us remember to communicate with you through prayer in our times of need and in times of thanksgiving. Thank you for listening and responding to our prayers. Amen If time remains before parents arrive, encourage children to return to their Power of Prayer Decode if they did not complete it. Also encourage conversation between children and with you. This is another opportunity to build relationships with the children in your classroom! Teach Us to Pray Lesson 1
20 Game Game Questions Teach Us to Pray Lesson 1 1. Who was Jesus talking to when he taught The Lord s Prayer? a. His mother b. The disciples c. The Samaritans 2. In which book of the Bible is prayer first mentioned? a. Genesis b. Exodus c. The Gospel of Luke 3. Prayer a. Takes too long b. Is how we communicate with God c. Is only for praying mantises 4. We can pray for the sick. Which prayer is the best fit? a. Please keep me away from every germ in the world b. I just ate 25 peanut butter cups. Please don t let me get sick. c. Please help my grandma s arthritis get better. 5. How many prayers are listed in the Bible? a. 54 b. 215 c. 650
Teach Us to Pray Lesson 1 6. True or false, you can sing a prayer? a. True b. False 7. Which of the following people can you not offer prayers for? a. Someone who doesn t believe in God b. A person of another religion c. The President d. None of the above ***after they answer, add that you can pray for anyone at any time!! 8. God answers our prayers a. Only when we say good ones b. Always c. Only when His answer is yes ***after they answer, add that God may not always say yes, but He does answer our prayers 9. How can we communicate with God? a. Texting b. Prayer c. Mailing a letter d. Email
Teach Us to Pray Lesson 1 10. True or False, the main goal of prayer is to get what we want? a. True b. False 11. What is the best way to pray? a. Kneeling with hands folded b. In the car c. Laying on your bed d. While taking a walk e. All of the above ***after they answer, add that you can pray at any time and in any position! 12. We can pray for our church. Which prayer is the best fit? a. Please help the service end sooner b. Please bless Pastor Chris with the ability to give good sermons c. Please let there be good snacks today 13. Most of the time, at the end of a prayer we say one word. What is that word? a. Ah-choo b. Amen c. Abracadabra d. The End 14. True or False, we should only pray to God? a. True b. False
Teach Us to Pray Lesson 1 15. True or False, prayer only works if we use the right words? a. True b. False 16. Prayers should be said a. Very loudly so everyone can hear them b. Silently in our heads c. Together with others d. All of the above 17. How often can we pray? a. Only one time per day b. Only once a week when we are at church c. Only three times per month d. As many times as we want 18. We can pray for forgiveness. Which prayer is the best fit? a. Dear God, you must be glad that I never do anything wrong. b. Dear God, I m sorry for doing my very best on my Math test. c. Dear God, I m sorry for lying to Mom about doing my homework. 19. What is the name of the prayer Jesus taught his disciples? a. The Lord s Prayer b. The Best Prayer c. Hail Mary
20 Cards These cards are included here for your information only. They will be ready to use in your classroom. You do not need to print them.
20 Draw Cards These cards are included here for your information only. They will be ready to use in your classroom. You do not need to print them. Pick Pick Pick 3 3 4 Pick Pick Pick 2 2 4 Take Take Take 1 1 2 Steal Steal Take 1 1 2