During the lesson, the information for you to know is written in regular type, and what we suggest speaking or reading aloud to children is in bold. All resources for this lesson, including the Teacher Guide and Student Page, can be downloaded in a ZIP file by clicking on the following link:
In some lessons you will find "resource articles." These are articles written by experts from around the world to help equip you for your work with children and adolescents. Share them with parents or guardians if you consider it appropriate.
Lesson Introduction: This lesson is different than other lessons. Most of the teaching is done in the Connecting section, and the Teaching section focuses on what the children will do during the rest of the class. That is because the children will spend most of their time walking, praying, and sharing with others at prayer stations. The purpose of this lesson is not to have the children pray different kinds of prayers, but it is intended to help them come up with ideas to help them pray. The lesson is also intended to give the children time to be with God and to share their ideas about God with other children.
Before class, tear out the page at the end of this lesson and separate the 5 pictures. Display these pictures in the front of your space so the children can see them as they enter. Designate 5 separate areas of your space for each of the 5 stations. Make sure each station is large enough for up to 10 children to sit.
Don’t worry about anything. No matter what happens,
tell God about everything.
Ask and pray, and give thanks to him.
Then God’s peace will watch over your hearts and your minds.
He will do this because you belong to Christ Jesus.
God’s peace can never be completely understood.
Philippians 4:6–7
What is the best way to develop a strong relationship with God? That is right—through prayer! Praying communicates your needs, praises, and thankfulness to God. God wants us to come to Him and pray about everything.
Think about something wonderful that has happened in your life. Have you thanked God for this? Now, think about a challenge or hard time you have faced. Did you pray to God about it? Think about God, your Creator, and all of the wonderful things He has done. Have you praised God for these things? Whatever you pray about, taking time to talk to God each day can help you to become closer to Him. May God bring peace into your life as you build your relationship with Him through prayer.
Encourage families to pray together. The children can share what they have learned, and then they can share their joys and concerns before praying together.
Teacher Tip: If possible, email or text the Family Connection Card to the families of your students.
Welcome the children as they come to class. Ask them to look at the 5 pictures you set out and think about what they mean.
I am so happy to see you today! I am excited to share this very special lesson with you! Today, we will journey to 5 different places in our space. At each one, we will have time to pray. On our journey, we will talk to God about many different things, and we will have time to share with others about our joys and our needs.
Let’s talk for a moment about why we pray. Jesus taught His disciples to pray because He knew prayer was important. Listen to these Bible verses about the power of prayer.
Read these verses directly from your Bible.
Don’t worry about anything. No matter what happens, tell God about everything. Ask and pray, and give thanks to him. Then God’s peace will watch over your hearts and your minds. He will do this because you belong to Christ Jesus. God’s peace can never be completely understood.
Philippians 4:6–7
Prayer helps us to focus on God. God wants us to come to Him with our worries, our joys, and our praises. These verses remind us that when we pray, we develop a relationship with God. This relationship helps us to feel the peace only He can provide.
Optional: If using Student Pages, pass out the sheet with the prayer station symbols to each student.
When you walked in this morning, you were asked to think about what these pictures might mean. First, let’s look at the heart picture. Think about your heart and about God.
Answers may include: love, life, care, or other similar meanings.
A heart can mean many things. Today, when you see the heart prayer station, think about God’s love for you. Think about the life He gave you. This will be a station where you can thank and listen to God with your heart.
Let’s look at the cross picture.
Jesus.
Allow 2–3 children to respond.
He died so that our sins could be forgiven. He died because He loves us. He lived a life on earth to teach us about God the Father. When you see this symbol, you can pray to Jesus about any of these things. You can also talk to Jesus about your worries, your joys, or anything else that is happening in your life.
Our next picture is a picture of the earth.
People, animals, and plants live on earth.
God created the earth.
The earth is the planet we live on. God made the earth. There are many wonderful things God placed on the earth. This station may be a good place to praise God for His creation. You may want to talk about the problems of earth. You could also pray for the people on the earth.
Now, we have a picture of a frowning face.
Sin.
The frowning face represents sin. When Adam and Eve ate from the tree God told them not to eat from, they went against God. Sin entered the world. Sin causes us to have problems.
Allow 3–4 children to respond.
Answers may include: People are not kind to each other. People do bad things. People are mean. People sin.
When you see the frowning face, think about your sins and the sins of other people. Ask for God to forgive you and others for sinning.
Now we come to the picture of bread. Think about what bread represents in the Bible. We have talked about the manna God gave the people of Israel in the desert. We have talked about bread as part of the Lord’s Prayer.
Bread is a symbol for the things God has provided.
Allow 2–3 children to respond.
When you see the bread picture, think about all of the things God has given you. Think about the ways He provides for you. Thank Him for these things. You might also choose to say the Lord’s Prayer at this station.
As you pray today, remember that you are building your relationship with God. Listen to Him and feel the peace of His presence with you.
You will choose a prayer station you want to visit. When you get to the station, you will look at the picture, think about what it means to you, and share your thoughts with the other children at the station. Then you will quiet your voice and pray to God. When it is time, you will move to another station you choose. You may not have time to visit every station. That is okay.
If you would like to take one of our picture cards to a prayer station, raise your hand.
Choose 5 children to give picture cards. Ask them to go to 5 specific locations in the teaching space where they can place the pictures to create the prayer stations.
Let’s spend some time talking to God. Go to a prayer station while I sing our morning prayer. When I stop, you must be at a station.
Station Instructions: Look at the picture and talk to your group about it.
Give the children 3 minutes to talk in their groups. As they talk, walk around to each station and listen to the children’s thoughts. This will help you to get to know the children better and will help the children stay focused on what they are supposed to do. If you find a group that is not talking about the picture, you may remind the children what you talked about in the Connecting section of the lesson.
After 3 minutes, signal or ask the children to quiet their voices and pray. Once 2 minutes have passed, repeat the procedure of singing the morning prayer and transitioning the children to the next station. Then repeat the station instructions.
Continue with the prayer stations until you have about 1 minute left of class. Gather the children in a circle for the blessing.
End class by saying this blessing, based on Philippians 4:6–7, over the children.
Blessing: May you remember that you can talk to God about everything. May you remember to thank Him, and may he fill you with the peace only He can bring you.
Lead the children in singing this quarter’s song, if possible.
Life on Life ©2020 David C Cook. Reproducible for home or classroom use only. All other uses require written permission from David C Cook [email protected]. All rights reserved.
