Think and Learn
In the last few weeks we have been looking at one special prayer for Christians all over the world: the Lord’s Prayer. The Lord’s Prayer is special because Jesus used it to teach all of his followers how we can communicate with God every day. There are many other prayers that have also been written down that we can use to communicate with God. Some are in the Bible (for example, many of the Psalms are prayers written by King David) and some have been written down in other places. Sometimes we might find a written down prayer that does a great job of putting something like our own thoughts and feelings into words, and so we might use those same words to pray to God. We can say the words out loud or just think them, and God gets the message. Sometimes the songs we sing can be prayers, too.
Using prayers other people have written down is good, but we don’t always have to communicate with God by repeating other people’s words; we can just say what we want to say to God in our own words, or we can use other ways besides words alone to communicate with God.
Think about how you communicate with other people, especially your close friends and family members who know you well. Communication isn’t always with words. Sometimes you communicate by your actions, such as perhaps holding the hand of a person who is feeling lonely or lost, or giving a pat on the back to encourage someone who is doing well. Sometimes we communicate using music that expresses how we feel, or by painting a picture, or by our facial expressions. There are many ways that humans communicate with each other. We can also use those ways to communicate our feelings and ideas to God.
Some of the things that we might want to communicate to God include:
Thanks and praise for the good things we and other people have received, such as our family, good food, a safe and comfortable place to live, or the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of nature;
Things we need and hope to have soon;
Help with problems we have and ideas on what we can do to solve them;
Help for other people, perhaps those who are sick or in danger;
Feelings we have that are bothering us. For example, being angry with someone or feeling sad about something.
Real communication is a two-way street. If we really want to communicate with God, we have to pay attention to God’s response to our prayer. God doesn’t always, or even usually, send us a message in spoken or written words. But if we wait for God’s response, we might recognize it in a feeling or an idea that comes to us as we wait for an answer to our prayers. Or it might be in seeing how a problem gets worked out or could be made better after you have prayed about it.
Wonder
Can you think of a time when you felt that God was communicating right to you
after you messaged God with a prayer?
How do you like to pray? Words? Singing? Using a prayer that’s already written down, or using your own?
Do
This activity emphasizes God’s love for each child and his desire to communicate with us.
Items to Pack
construction paper
crayons or markers
bright and colorful stickers
Set out the construction paper, markers or crayons, and colorful stickers. Make an invitation from God, inviting you to come and talk to God. Fill in the remaining information as follows:
Time: any time!
Place: any place!
Date: any day!