Alive Gang – The Lord’s Prayer (24th May 2020)

Last week we learnt about how Peter was put in prison and how his friends’ prayers were answered in a miraculous way. This week we are going to continue to think about the importance of prayer by looking at what Jesus had to say about praying.

Ways To Pray

You need: someone to play this game with


Task: Choose a way we can pray (some ideas are listed below). Then act it out for the person you are playing this game with and see if they can guess correctly. You can take it in turns to do this. Who managed to guess the most answers or most quickly?

Some ideas are: out loud, silently, by myself, while in bed, eyes open, sitting standing, kneeling, eyes closed, head bowed, while singing, with a group.

Reflect: What ways do you like praying? What ways would you want to try?
Jesus knew that prayer is important because it’s the way we talk to God. That’s why he gave us an example of a prayer to use. We will learn about that prayer now.

What does the Bible say?

Read the following story taken from Matthew chapter 6 verses 5 – 15. Jesus is speaking to his followers and spoke about prayer. You may also want to watch the video clip
When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites. They love to stand in the synagogues and on the street corners and pray loudly. They want people to see them pray. I tell you the truth. They already have their full reward. When you pray, you should go into your room and close the door. Then pray to your Father who cannot be seen. Your Father can see what is done in secret, and he will reward you.

And when you pray, don’t be like those people who don’t know God. They continue saying things that mean nothing. They think that God will hear them because of the many things they say. Don’t be like them. Your Father knows the things you need before you ask him. So when you pray, you should pray like this:

‘Our Father in heaven, we pray that your name will always be kept holy. We pray that your kingdom will come. We pray that what you want will be done, here on earth as it is in heaven. Give us the food we need for each day. Forgive the sins we have done, just as we have forgiven those who did wrong to us. And do not cause us to be tested; but save us from the Evil One.’

Yes, if you forgive others for the things they do wrong, then your Father in heaven will also forgive you for the things you do wrong. But if you don’t forgive the wrongs of others, then your Father in heaven will not forgive the wrong things you do.
Matthew
6:5-15

Signing Jesus' Example of Prayer

This example of prayer Jesus gave is often called ‘the Lord’s Prayer’. You may have prayed it or heard people pray it before. Jesus wanted his friends, and us, to know how to pray.


Can you learn how to pray this prayer in sign language? You can find out how to do this by watching this video.

Discuss

Jesus gave us this example of how to pray because he believed that prayer is important.

  • Why did Jesus think prayer is important?
  • Do you think prayer is important for you to do now and why / why not?
  • What will you do if you believe prayer is important?

Prayer is important as it’s our connection with God. Let’s write our own prayer to God using the example that Jesus gave.

Your Own Prayer to God

Look at each verse of the prayer Jesus gave and then make your own prayer, following the same pattern.

This week (21 May to 31 May) Christians all over the world are joining together in prayer through a Global Prayer Movement called ‘Thy Kingdom Come’. You can join in with these activities through the Family Prayer Adventure Map and other fun things to do here https://www.thykingdomcome.global/resources/digital-family-prayer-adventure-map