Lesson 14: God wants us to ...Pray

Hi friends!  This is a little lesson on prayer.  I don't know about you, but in our house we've been needing to work on "prayer time etiquette," so I thought a lesson was in order!  This ended up being a very sweet lesson with Jenna.  I hope it provides some good connection time between you and your little one!

1. Verse - I'm listing three different versions of this verse.  Pick which one you want to use!  I went with the  NLT version because I thought it would be easier for Jenna to understand.

Never stop praying.  1st Thessalonians 5:17 (NLT
Pray without ceasing. (ESV)
Pray continually.  (NIV)

2.  Lesson -

• Pray with your child about the lesson.
• So, we've learned that God made us, He loves us, He takes care of us, and He wants us to love and obey Him.
• Praying is how we talk to God.  He loves it when we talk to Him!
• When do we usually pray and talk to God?  (before meals, before bed, before our lessons.)
• God wants us to pray and talk to Him to thank Him, to tell Him we love Him, when we need to ask for His help, and tell Him what we're feeling.
• You can talk to God any time you want to!  When you're with mommy and daddy, at church, at Bible class, or when you're all alone in your bedroom.  God loves it when we pray and talk to Him any time!
• I (mommy) like to pray when... (share times when you like to talk to God.  For me it was when I'm driving, when I'm doing dishes, when I'm going to bed, and sometimes I pray when you and Madeline are napping.)
•  Now, when we pray, God wants us to be still and quiet so we're not distracted when we talk to Him.  To be still and quiet, we fold our hands and closed our eyes.  Let's practice...
• In the Bible, Jesus tells us how to pray.  This is what he says... Read The Lord's prayer, Matthew 6:9-13.  (I just read this and didn't explain this much.)

3.  Craft -  Prayer coloring page.
You can find this coloring page here.

This was Jenna's....

4.  Song - "Whisper a prayer." #34 on Wee Sing Bible Songs
"Whisper a prayer in the morning,
whisper a prayer at noon,
whisper a prayer in the evening,
to keep your heart in tune."

5.  End by reviewing the new verse one more time.

**Note - When I told Jenna that I like to pray when I'm driving, she proudly said, "Yes, like you pray when you need a parking spot!"  Um, whoops!  I immediately recalled the last time I was searching for a parking space and I had said out loud, "Lord, please give us a parking spot!"  lol!  Wow, they really are little sponges!!  This is why we need to start teaching them truth now....aaaand watch what we say.  :)  (I really was praying for that spot, by the way, because we were almost late for a kids play.  God gave us a spot, BUT later I got a ticket for parking there without a permit!  Hmmm, what was God trying to teach me??)  Anyway, hope your prayer lesson is precious and you all have a wonderful weekend!!