How many times have you heard a child say, "I don't know how to pray" or "I don't know what to
say" when you ask them to pray? While this may be all right for very small children, it is extremely important for kids to learn to pray as soon as possible - actually, for us ALL to know how.
For most of us, we pray without giving it a second thought about if we are doing it right or wrong. And for the most part, as long as we are talking to God, it can't be truly wrong. But, it can be so much more right!
In this Sunday school lesson, you'll find out what your Sunday school kids know about praying and may learn a thing or two yourself - I did.
Before beginning your lesson, ask the kids if they have anything they would like the class to pray about. While taking prayer requests, take a few notes on what the kids say. You'll probably hear things like: pray for my mom and dad, my dog is sick, a kid in my class got hurt, my daddy's working, or even I'm sick.
Write these things down as you will use them later in the lesson.
Once you've taken prayer requests, go over the following verse.
After you go over this verse a few times, ask the kids what it means to pray without ceasing. You'll
find that often kids will repeat bible verses without actually thinking about what they mean. As they process the meaning, you may get a few questions about how you can pray all the time or pray without stopping.
This is where you want your kid's train of thought to be as you start the Sunday school activity below. This activity will be your lesson as well. You'll find that by doing this activity, the kids will learn so much more about praying than by just 'telling' them how to do it.
Let's begin.
Note: The following activity was inspired by a lesson from Kids' Travel Guide to the Armor of God
.
Gather these items or come up with some of your own: pencils, paper, a picture of your pastor, a photo of your church, food items, drinks, articles of clothing, and a mirror.
Divide up the items into stations around the room. Then, divide the kids up into groups for each station.
Tip: The pencil and paper can be used to draw family members, friends, pets, etc. You can decide on this by what the prayer requests were at the beginning.
The purpose of these stations is to get kids thinking about what God has given them and what each one means to them. For instance, the articles of clothing may spark thoughts of having warm clothes to wear or money to buy the clothes. But what about, the child that sits next to them in school that doesn't have many clothes or kids in other countries that don't have socks or warm coats to wear?
The mirror will represent them looking inside themselves. Kids may think about the outward appearance, but what about how they can be better Christians or live the way God wants. Maybe some kids have trouble controlling their temper or always are wanting something they don't need.
The food and drinks will let them see that God gives this to them and they need to be thankful. Also, there are many who don't have food and water. This is something we need to pray about as well.
Get the kids thinking outside the box!
Walk through the stations with your kids and talk about each one before you let them begin their own journey through each station. By walking through each one with them, you will be able to talk about each one and give them some things to help them think outside the box.
Remember to pray for your pastor. The kids can pray for his health, but also that God gives him wisdom to lead your church as God needs it led or any number of things your pastor may need prayer for.
Once you have walked through the stations, let the groups go through each one taking time to kneel down and pray.
It may feel awkward to them at first, but by the time they get through each station it will be less awkward and you may find they are spending more time at each one.
At this time, you will be asking for prayer requests again here at the end of the lesson. You will find that once the kids have had time to think about the items in each station, their prayer request will have changed a bit.
This is a good thing as they will have realized that prayer is more about asking for stuff. It is about thanking and praising God for what they have and praying not only for themselves, but for others. Of course, it is good to ask God to help yourself because we can't do it alone! Actually, we can't do it by ourselves at all!
A final request:
Please pass this along by clicking on one of the social media links below. I love the Lord and want to share my posts with as many Sunday school teachers as possible. Thanks and have a great day!
say" when you ask them to pray? While this may be all right for very small children, it is extremely important for kids to learn to pray as soon as possible - actually, for us ALL to know how.
For most of us, we pray without giving it a second thought about if we are doing it right or wrong. And for the most part, as long as we are talking to God, it can't be truly wrong. But, it can be so much more right!
In this Sunday school lesson, you'll find out what your Sunday school kids know about praying and may learn a thing or two yourself - I did.
Sunday School Lesson on Prayer
Before beginning your lesson, ask the kids if they have anything they would like the class to pray about. While taking prayer requests, take a few notes on what the kids say. You'll probably hear things like: pray for my mom and dad, my dog is sick, a kid in my class got hurt, my daddy's working, or even I'm sick.
Write these things down as you will use them later in the lesson.
Once you've taken prayer requests, go over the following verse.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 KJV
Pray without ceasing.
After you go over this verse a few times, ask the kids what it means to pray without ceasing. You'll
This is where you want your kid's train of thought to be as you start the Sunday school activity below. This activity will be your lesson as well. You'll find that by doing this activity, the kids will learn so much more about praying than by just 'telling' them how to do it.
Let's begin.
Note: The following activity was inspired by a lesson from Kids' Travel Guide to the Armor of God
.Gather these items or come up with some of your own: pencils, paper, a picture of your pastor, a photo of your church, food items, drinks, articles of clothing, and a mirror.
Divide up the items into stations around the room. Then, divide the kids up into groups for each station.
Tip: The pencil and paper can be used to draw family members, friends, pets, etc. You can decide on this by what the prayer requests were at the beginning.
The purpose of these stations is to get kids thinking about what God has given them and what each one means to them. For instance, the articles of clothing may spark thoughts of having warm clothes to wear or money to buy the clothes. But what about, the child that sits next to them in school that doesn't have many clothes or kids in other countries that don't have socks or warm coats to wear?
The mirror will represent them looking inside themselves. Kids may think about the outward appearance, but what about how they can be better Christians or live the way God wants. Maybe some kids have trouble controlling their temper or always are wanting something they don't need.
The food and drinks will let them see that God gives this to them and they need to be thankful. Also, there are many who don't have food and water. This is something we need to pray about as well.
Get the kids thinking outside the box!
Walk through the stations with your kids and talk about each one before you let them begin their own journey through each station. By walking through each one with them, you will be able to talk about each one and give them some things to help them think outside the box.
Remember to pray for your pastor. The kids can pray for his health, but also that God gives him wisdom to lead your church as God needs it led or any number of things your pastor may need prayer for.
Once you have walked through the stations, let the groups go through each one taking time to kneel down and pray.
It may feel awkward to them at first, but by the time they get through each station it will be less awkward and you may find they are spending more time at each one.
Finishing the Lesson
After the kids have finished each station, have them come back to you and sit down. You will need your notes you took of prayer requests at the beginning.At this time, you will be asking for prayer requests again here at the end of the lesson. You will find that once the kids have had time to think about the items in each station, their prayer request will have changed a bit.
This is a good thing as they will have realized that prayer is more about asking for stuff. It is about thanking and praising God for what they have and praying not only for themselves, but for others. Of course, it is good to ask God to help yourself because we can't do it alone! Actually, we can't do it by ourselves at all!
A final request:
Please pass this along by clicking on one of the social media links below. I love the Lord and want to share my posts with as many Sunday school teachers as possible. Thanks and have a great day!
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