P-R-A-Y (4 week lesson)

For the next 4 weeks we will be focused on learning how we can pray. You and your kids are encouraged to watch this short video before each lesson all 4 weeks.  It will go over 4 ways we can pray and brief lessons from the Bible. Below the video, will be the 4 lessons (one posted each week) and an optional craft for you to complete as a family. Some weeks there will be an additional video you can watch as well for a more in-depth look into the featured story from the Bible.

Week 1: Praise

Click here to download a printable coloring sheet for this week.

One way we can pray to the Lord is by praising the Lord! This week we are going to focus on Jehoshaphat’s story. Jehoshaphat was a good king who loved the Lord. He heard that there were 3 armies coming to attack his people.  When he heard this he went and gathered the people and they prayed together! While they were praying, the Lord spoke to a man who then told Jehoshaphat what the Lord had said. The Lord told them that they didn’t have to fight the battle at all! The battle was in the Lord’s hands and they were supposed to praise the Lord as their weapon. Can you imagine this?! Praise was their weapon against the big armies coming to attack them! Jehoshaphat listened to the Lord and sent people to sing and play instruments praising the Lord in front of their army.  When they got to the camp of the other armies, they saw that they were already dead! God had done exactly what He said He would do.

Do you know that God still works like this? We are His people and we are called (that means God wants us to do something) to praise the Lord. Do you ever feel scared? Do you ever feel overwhelmed? Do you ever feel like something is too much for you to do on your own?  God can see you and He wants you to praise Him when you feel this way! We don’t have to do ANYTHING on our own! God is with us and will fight for us! We just need to praise Him!

Click here to view an animated video of Jehoshaphat!

Click here to view a live action video of Jehoshaphat!

Let’s pray together today!

God we want to praise you today! We thank you that you are bigger than anything we come up against. Today we will choose to praise you just like they did in Jehoshaphat’s time. We know that you love us and will fight for us. Thank you for everything you’ve given us. Help me to praise you in everything I do. Watch over our families, friends, and community. We love you! Amen.

Memory verse for the week

2 Chronicles 20:9
“We can cry out to you to save us, and you will hear us and rescue us.”

Craft: Make an instrument of praise! You can do this using household items like a toilet paper roll, paper towel roll, empty soup cans, or anything else you can dream up. If you need inspiration, check out this video!

Worship! Don’t forget to worship and dance along with us! Click here to use this video to help you get started! 

Week 2: Repent

Click here to download a coloring sheet for this week’s prayer letter!

Another way we can pray is to repent. Have you ever done the wrong thing? Have you ever hurt someone’s feelings? Have you ever stood by while you saw other people doing the wrong thing? If you are being honest, I bet the answer to all of those is a big YES.  We all mess up! Everyone is human and we make mistakes almost every day! Your parents mess up, your friends mess up, your teachers mess up, and even your pastor can mess up!

People in the Bible weren’t perfect either. There was a King named David (the same David who fought the giant Goliath!) who messed up BIG TIME in the bible. This was also the same man that God described as a “man after God’s own heart.”  So how could a man with big enough faith the take on Goliath mess up so much? Easy – he was still human and he let his human “wants” get in his way. At first, David was going to try to hide his mistakes – as if God couldn’t see them anyway.  In the process of trying to cover up what he had done, he made and even BIGGER mistake!

God sent David’s friend Nathan to confront David and to help him understand that he needed to repent, or ask forgiveness. David did this and do you know what God did? God forgave David.

Click here to view a video about the story of David.

Just like God forgave David, He will forgive you too! When we mess up (and we ALL will mess up) we need to ask God to forgive us. He wants to take away our sin and make us clean – all we have to do is ask!  That’s why Jesus came and died on the cross. He took away all of your sin! He can change your whole life if you let him! Watch this video to see an example of how Jesus changes everything!

Guess what? God knew that we were going to mess up. That’s why He sent his son to take away our sin! So what should we do when we mess up?  When we mess up we should always repent. Repent is another way of saying that we should ask for forgiveness from God (and people if we hurt someone) and then we should turn and go in the other direction – meaning don’t keep making the same mistakes. Let Jesus come in and make you clean again!

Let’s pray together!

God, today we ask you for forgiveness for everything we’ve done in our pasts. Thank you for sending Jesus to die for me. I don’t want to keep making the same mistakes. Help me to make better choices and to keep my mind focused on you. Help me to also know that when I do mess up again, you still love me. I love you so much God. Amen

Craft Ideas:

Make some street signs to remind you what to do when we mess up. You could make a stop sign and write under it “ask forgiveness” or a u-turn sign that reminds you to turn and go in the other direction. For extra fun – ake them both and put them on either side of a popsicle stick! some examples are below!

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Memory Verse

Proverbs 28:13   People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy.

Worship time!

 

Week 3: Ask

Click here to download a coloring sheet for this week’s prayer letter!

The third way we can pray is to ask God for something. Have you ever had something that you really wanted? We all have things on our heart that we REALLY want. Maybe you know someone who is sick and you really want that person to be healed. Maybe you have a goal and you REALLY want to achieve it. In the Bible we read about a woman named Hannah who really wanted to have a baby. She prayed and prayed for a baby. She told God that if He could give her a baby, she would honor the Lord by dedicating the baby to the Lord. God heard her cries and answered her prayers. She gave birth to a baby boy and she named him Samuel. Samuel grew up to honor and serve the Lord.

The awesome thing about asking God for something on our heart is that we KNOW that God is always listening. He wants to hear from us! He wants us to come to him with everything – big and small! God is a loving and kind Father who wants to see His children prosper.

Click here to watch a video about Hannah’s story. 

Craft

Make a cup and string telephone!

Get your parents to help you poke a small hole in the bottom of two disposable cups. Put the yarn or string through the hole and tie a knot so that it will stay inside. Do the same to both cups. Test it out! One person will speak into one cup while the other one will listen.

Praying Hands

Fold a piece of paper in half. Trace your hand so that either the pinky or thumb is on the folded edge. Cut around the outline of the hand.  On the front write “I can ask God anything!” and on the inside write “God loves me and He hears me!” On the back, don’t forget to include your memory verse of the week!

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Memory verse – Psalm 37:4

Take delight in the Lordand he will give you your heart’s desires.

Let’s pray together!

God, we thank you for who you are. We thank you that you hung the moon and stars and still know us by name. Today we want to ask you for the big and small things on our hearts. Lord, you know what those things are and you know what is important to us. We know that what is important to us, is important to you because WE are important to you. We thank you that you are so loving and your heart is for us!  Help us to show your love in everything we do!

Worship time!

 

Week 4: Yield

Click here to download a coloring sheet for this week’s prayer letter

One final way you can pray is to yield to the Lord- that means give up control.  Sometimes we hear people say “God is in control” but do we really know what that means? It means that even though we have “wants”, we are choosing to follow God’s path even if it doesn’t match our “wants”. It also means that we recognize that God’s way is better than our way!

We know what we want, but how do we know what God want’s us to do? We can know what God wants the same way we know what our parents want us to do… He tells us!  God is after our attention and is speaking to us, but it is up to us whether or not we listen. In the bible we hear about God speaking to a boy named Samuel. Samuel was asleep when God said his name. Samuel didn’t respond the first time God said his name because he didn’t recognize His voice. It took several times to get his attention and for Samuel to understand that it was the voice of God he was hearing. When Samuel finally heard God, he said “Speak Lord. Your servant is listening.” Watch the video below to see more of Samuel’s story!

God can speak to us out loud like He did with Samuel but he can also speak to us in other ways. One way we can hear from God is to read His word. Imagine getting a letter from someone you love who isn’t physically with you. It would be exciting to see what they had to say! You would probably read the letter as soon as it arrived and you may even read it more than once, just to “hear” from them again. That’s the way we need to see the Bible.

Reading the bible is one of the best ways to hear from the Lord (especially since they are His words) but it isn’t the only way to hear God. You may hear God speak to you while listening to worship music, hearing a preacher, talking to your parents, or even just sitting alone. That’s right – God can speak to you anytime, any where!

Now, what happens if you HEAR God but you don’t actually do what He wants? Well, what happens if you hear your parents but you don’t actually do what they have asked of you? Sometimes we think we know better than our parents but God placed them in authority over us for a reason. We need to listen to and obey our parents. Just like we should obey our parents, we need to obey the Lord.  This is where we get back to what it means to yield.

Imagine this: Your parents ask you to clean your room but instead of cleaning, you spend time looking at your phone or playing a game. The next thing you know your friends are knocking on the door asking if you can come out and play. When your parents come to check on you , they find your room still the mess it was earlier. You are probably going to miss out on the blessing of playing with your friends. In the same way, if we choose not to listen to the Lord and to go down our own path, we may miss blessings that would have been there if we were on the path God had for us.

This week as you are praying, ask God to direct your path and listen to what He says. God is always speaking and we need to choose to listen AND follow through. This week I challenge you to say “speak Lord, your servant is listening! ”

Listening Ears Craft

Draw two ears on a piece of paper. (If drawing isn’t your thing – don’t worry! Click here to download a printable version of ears!)

After your ears are drawn (or cut out) color them and tape/glue them to a piece of paper long enough to wrap around your head. In the middle write “listening ears” and on the back, include the scripture 1 Samuel 3:10. Have fun!

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Memory Verse: 1 Samuel 3:10

Speak Lord. Your servant is listening.

Let’s worship together!

Now that we have finished all four weeks of our prayer lesson’s, put your weekly coloring sheets in order to spell our the word “PRAY”

P: Praise

R: Repent

A: Ask

Y: Yield