During today’s blog post, we’re going to go over a Bible activity that you can do with your students to help them become more comfortable talking to God.
This is part two of the lesson–part one can be found here.
Activity Preparation
Take the ten parts of the Lord’s prayer that are numbered and in CAPS in the following description of the Bible activity. Write each of those statements on the printer paper or print them on your printer in large type. Throw in some colorful illustrations to add flavor.
Bible Lesson
(Bold sections are what you should say out loud to your class)
Jesus taught them the Lord’s Prayer. But a lot of people have had the wrong idea about the Lord’s Prayer. Jesus wasn’t trying to teach them to recite. In fact, he warned in the Sermon on the Mount, “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again.”
He was suggesting topics because He knows that man can feel really stupid, and He wanted to help out. Let’s look at the Lord’s Prayer:
Give Sheet One (Our Father, who art in Heaven = THINK UP SOME NICE WAY TO SAY HELLO) to a student to hold up so the others can see while you’re talking.
“Our Father, who art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy name.” Back then, that was like saying, “Father, you are very, very awesome and cool.”
Give Sheet Two (The kingdom come = TELL HIM YOU ARE EXCITED TO SEE HIM SOME DAY) to a student to hold up.
“The kingdom come” has some history to it. The disciples knew what it meant – the Messiah would bring peace on earth. It means, “I can’t wait for you to come back and all the horrible stuff in the world to end.”
Give Sheet Three (Thy will be done = TELL HIM TO GUIDE YOU THROUGH SOMETHING DIFFICULT) to a student to hold up.
“Thy will be done.” We all like to have fun. But the best way to have the longest, peaceful-est, and most enduring fun is to get in line with what He wants. It means, “Show me the way, every day.”
Give Sheet Four (Give us this day our daily bread = TELL HIM WHAT YOU’RE GRATEFUL FOR & WHAT YOU WANT) to a student to hold up.
“Give us this day our daily bread.” Jesus was great for not getting all in a sweat over tomorrow. He taught in the synagogue the day before he was killed! As he says in Matthew 6:34, “”¦do not worry about tomorrow”¦Each day has enough trouble of its own.” It means thanks for what I have – today – and asks him to make sure today is good.
Give Sheet Five (And forgive us our trespasses = TELL HIM TO TAKE AWAY YOUR GUILTY FEELINGS AND WHAT CAUSED THEM) to a student to hold up.
“And forgive us our trespasses””¦Tell Him if you feel guilty about something. Or stupid. Or embarrassed. He doesn’t want us feeling guilty or stupid or embarrassed – that isn’t why he died.
Give Sheet Six (As we forgive those who trespass against us = TELL HIM TO TAKE AWAY ANGRY FEELINGS) to a student to hold up.
“As we forgive those who trespass against us.” Let go of whatever is stealing your joy. Did someone do something to you? Are you fuming about it? Then, that person has won. That person stole your joy and your peace with yourself. Jesus wants to you have that.
Give Sheet Seven (Lead us not into temptation = ASK HIM TO PROTECT YOU FROM DOING THE WRONG THING) to a student to hold up.
“Lead us not into temptation.” THAT ought to be the biggest prayer a teenager has. You’re surrounded by temptations – on the hour – to choose something over Him. When you look back in 40 years, trust me: You may not remember what you chose over Him. But you will remember making the choice. It’s unnatural, when you’re His. Think of things coming up like parties and sports and school.
Give Sheet Eight (Deliver us from evil = ASK FOR A WALL OF PROTECTION AROUND YOU) to a student to hold up.
“Deliver us from evil.” Protect us – from others, as well as from our own desires to be awful sometimes.
Give Sheet Nine (For thine is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever = TELL HIM YOU HAVE CONFIDENCE IN HIS LISTENING AND HIS POWER) to a student to hold up.
“For thine is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever””¦ that is just some of those old-fashioned words again. To us they mean, “You are the strongest, most awesome-est, and I know you can do all the things I just asked.”
Give Sheet Ten (Amen = SIGN OFF IN A WAY THAT TELLS HIM YOU’RE SERIOUS ABOUT ALL THIS) to a student to hold up.
“Amen!” Amen actually means SO BE IT! Or TRULY! Or TOTALLY! Or EMPHATICALLY! Or WITHOUT A DOUBT, THIS IS ALL TRUE!
Have the student who won the tongue twisters (from this blog post) try another one. Let her say it until she gets it without stumbling.
When talking to God, it can start out feeling like we’re stumbling all over and sounding awkward. If we practice, it starts to feel normal”¦and good.
Conclusion:
You can say your own “version” of the Lord’s Prayer, using the suggestions of Jesus to remind you of what you might want to say. The important thing is not to simply utter words. God wants to hear what you really think and want and wonder about and are afraid of. He wants you to sense Him when you’re in trouble so that he can get you out of it.
Do you think your students will enjoy this Bible activity–and maybe get a little something out of it, too? If so, don’t forget to share this post with fellow children’s ministers!