Why Prayer?
“Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray….”
Why did the disciples ask Jesus to teach them how to pray?
They could see that Jesus was getting answer to his prayers and they were not.
I am a believer in participatory learning.
Just telling kids they need to pray is not good enough.
I want my kids to know how to pray and get answer to their prayers.
New believers don’t know automatically know how to pray. In fact, when we first get saved our prayers are selfish and misguided. Others use their prayer time as an opportunity to complain to God about their problems. This is offensive to the Lord.
Prayer is so important I spend several months every year teaching on prayer. Here are four things I teach kids about prayer.
- Prayer is simply talking to God and listening to God.
Talk to God like you talk to your best friend and take time to listen.
It’s rare that God physically gives you the answer to your prayer. Most of the time God will give you something to do that leads you to your answer.
This is why it is so important to develop the skilling of listening when you pray. Don’t do all the talking when you pray. Half of your prayer life should be spent listening.
- Our pray life is more effective if we connect with what God wants for our life.
It’s possible to talk God into things, like Israel talked God into letting them have a king, but our prayer life is much more effective if we hook up with His will.
- The Bible teaches us about the will of God.
If we base our prayers on the Bible we can have confidence God will answer our prayers.
- We need to teach kids that there are many different kinds of prayers.
Here is a short list of the different kinds of prayers:
- Prayer for salvation – Romans 10:9
- Prayer for forgiveness – I John 1:9
- Prayer of faith – Mark – 11:23
- Prayer of agreement – Mathew – 18:19
- Prayer of intercession – I Timothy 2:1
I follow this pattern when teaching kids how to pray.
- Teach on Prayer
This happens during large group. The next three steps happen in small group
- Practice Prayer
If I teach on the prayer of intersession I ask one of the kids to pray for someone they know to that needs salvation.
If I teach on the prayer before the meal I ask one of the kids to practice praying for the food.
- Listen when you pray
Ask your kids to just be quiet for 1 minute and listen. This helps them develop the skill of listening when they pray.
- What did you hear?
Ask the kids to share what they heard. When you do this it gives the kids confidence that God will speak to them. If you are unwilling to do this then I question if you even believe that God will speak to kids.
- Ask for testimonies.
Did anyone get a prayer answered recently?
I still remember the first time I got a prayer answered.
There is nothing that excites a young believer more than an answered prayer.
Are you ready to teach your kids how to pray?
I have some good news for you.
I have written an entire curriculum on prayer.
It introduces the concept of talking and listening to God and then covers nine different kinds of prayers.
Why Grow Up?
“Go into all the world and make disciples.”
Jesus wants us to ‘make disciples’ of the kids in our class.
This begs the following questions,
• How do I actually make a disciple?
• What does a disciple look like?
• What does a disciple do?
The word disciple means ‘to teach and to train.’
Bottom line: A disciple of Christ is someone who listens to Christ and obeys Christ.
If this seems incredibly simple it is.
The world is getting more and more complicated, but a relationship with Christ can be summed up in five basic steps.
Here are five steps for helping kids grow strong in Christ.
1) Born Again – I want my kids to do more than repeat the sinner’s prayer. I want them to have a real relationship with Christ.
2) Read The Bible – We need to teach kids about the
importance of reading the Bible, but we also need to build Bible reading into our programs. If kids do not learn how to read the Bible they will never become a disciple of Christ. (I do this in my small group time.)
3) Go To Church – God speaks to us at church. He speaks to us through our leaders and our friends. I see a lot of people beating up on the church today, but I have observed when people stop attending church, they begin to grow weak spiritually.
4) Prayer – Prayer is not just talking to God. Half of our prayer life should be spent listening to God. God speaks to us during our prayer time.
5) Obey – God speaks to me through the Bible. God speaks to me at church. God speaks to me through pray, but I really start to grow spiritually when I obey God and do what He says. Strong disciples are people who hear God’s voice and obey. They may be 10 years old or they may be 50 years old. Age is not a requirement for spiritual growth. Obedience is the requirement for spiritual growth.
At SuperChurch.com we have created a new 12-week Curriculum titled Grow Up.
Grow Up is strategically designed to help kids grow strong in God.
Here is what people are saying about Grow Up.
“Grow Up – Super Church was excellent! It not only challenged the kids in my class to begin to grow up spiritually, but it challenged me as their teacher! Just the curriculum ‘church kids’ really need!” – Julie Bay
Here’s What You Get!
- 12 Large Group Lessons
- 12 Small Group Lessons
- 12 Home Devotional Lessons
- 12 Adventures Of The Masked Hero
- 12 Bottom Line & Memory Verse
- 12 Digital Review Questions
- 12 Short Films
Watch the below video for an overview of the “Prayer” series
See It In Action
Weekly Overview of Prayer 2.0
Lesson 1: Spending Time With God – Matthew 6:6
Lesson 2: Kinds of Prayer – Ephesians 6:18
Lesson 3: Prayer of Salvation – Romans 10:9
Lesson 4: Prayer of Forgiveness – 1 John 1:9
Lesson 5: Prayer of Worship – John 4:24
Lesson 6: Prayer of Faith – Mark 11:24
Lesson 7: Prayer of Agreement – Matthew 18:19
Lesson 8: Prayer of Consecration – Luke 22:42
Lesson 9: Prayer of Commitment – 1 Peter 5:7
Lesson 10: Praying in the Spirit – 1 Corinthians 14:15
Lesson 11: Prayer of Intercession – Romans 8:26
Lesson 12: Roadblocks to Answered Prayer – James 4:6
Lesson 13: Review Lesson
Weekly Overview of Grow Up 2.0
Lesson 1: Don’t be a Baby – 1 Peter 2.2
Lesson 2: Born Again – John 3:3
Lesson 3: Read the Bible – 1 Peter 2:2
Lesson 4: Do What the Bible Says – James 1:22
Lesson 5: Guard Your Heart – Proverbs 4:23
Lesson 6: Pray Everyday – Matthew 6:6
Lesson 7: Take Time to Listen – Psalm 46:10
Lesson 8: Go to Church – Hebrews 10:25
Lesson 9: Obey God – Isaiah 1:19
Lesson 10: A Change of Mind – Romans 12:2
Lesson 11: Transform Your Thoughts – Philippians 4:8
Lesson 12: Be Your Own Boss – 1 Corinthians 9:27
Lesson 13: Review Lesson
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