PRAYER

PRAYER

FHE Lesson and Story Ideas

LEARN ABOUT “Prayer Language”:

·        Read article from the Friend called “Prayer Languague”

·        Use the “fill in the blank” activity and fill in the “thee”, “thou”, “thy,” and “thine” by looking up the scriptures  (3 Nephi 13: 9-13)

·        Look for “prayer language” in the scriptures.

·        Make a “flip book” with “normal word” and “prayer language”  -- or flash cards.

DISCUSS DIFFERENT TYPES OF PRAYER AND WHEN WE USE PRAYER IN OUR DAILY LIVES

DISCUSS THE IMPORTANCE OF PRAYING SINCERELY AND THOUGHTFULLY

DISCUSS HOW PRAYERS ARE ANSWERED

·        Read “Just Around the Corner” – sometimes answers to prayers are not what we want or expect, but what the Lord knows is best.

·        Read “Quiet Prayers”

TELL SCRIPTURE STORIES ABOUT PRAYER:

·        Jesus in Gethsemane – Matthew 26:36-46

·        Enos – Enos 1

·        Hannah – Samuel 1:1-20

·        Daniel – Daniel 6

SET GOALS AS A FAMILY AND INDIVIDUALLY FOR DAILY PRAYERS AND TO LISTEN DURING AND AFTER PRAYERS.

EAT A DESSERT TOGETHER SPEAKING IN OLD ENGLISH – “PRAYER LANGUAGE”

Prayer Language -- By Laurel Rohlfing

What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them (Mark 11:24).

Have you ever wondered what you might say or how you would address a very important person, such as a king, queen, or president of a country? You would want to show by your speech that you respected and honored this ruler. You might practice saying “Yes, sir” or “No, ma’am” and review the proper way to shake hands, bow, or curtsy.

There is someone, more important than anyone on earth, with whom you can talk anytime you choose. He is your Heavenly Father, and you speak with Him through prayer. Just as you would try to be polite and courteous to an important ruler, there are ways to show that you love and respect Heavenly Father. When you pray, you can show that you reverence Heavenly Father by using proper prayer language.

When Jesus was visiting the Nephites, He knelt and prayed to Heavenly Father. He showed His respect by addressing His Father with the proper words: “Father, I thank thee that thou hast given the Holy Ghost unto these whom I have chosen, …

“I pray thee that thou wilt give the Holy Ghost unto all them that shall believe.” (3 Ne. 19:20–21, italics added.)

You can follow Jesus’ example by using words that show Heavenly Father that you love and reverence Him. Use the words thee or thou instead of you, thy instead of your, and thine instead of yours or your.

To help you remember the proper words to use when you pray to Heavenly Father, remember this verse:

Thee, thou, thy, and thine

Are special words that say

I love my Heavenly Father

And respect Him when I pray.

Instructions

These songs are prayers to Heavenly Father. Fill in the blanks using reverent prayer language. If you know the songs, you can sing them to check your answers.

“Tell me, dear Lord, in ________ (your) own way I pray,

What __________ (you) would’st have me say and do today.

Teach me to know and love ________ (your) will, O Lord;

Help me to understand _________ (your) loving word.”

(See “Tell Me, Dear Lord,” Children’s Songbook, page 176.)

“Thank ___________ (you) for the world so sweet;

Thank ___________ (you) for the food we eat;

Thank ___________ (you) for the birds that sing;

Thank __________, (you) God, for ev’rything!”

(See “A Song of Thanks,” Children’s Songbook, page 20.)

“I thank __________, (you) dear Father in heaven above,

For ___________ (your) goodness and mercy, _________ (your) kindness and love.

I thank ___________ (you) for home, friends, and parents so dear,

And for ev’ry blessing that I enjoy here.”

(See “I Thank Thee, Dear Father,” Children’s Songbook, page 7.)

Sharing Time Ideas

1. Make a copy of a prayer found in the scriptures, such as 3 Nephi 13:9–13, and leave blanks for the words thee, thou, thy, and thine. Let the children look up the scripture and fill in the blanks.

2.  Have children turn to a prayer in the scriptures, such as 3 Nephi 19:20–23 [, 3 Nephi 19:28–29, or John 17, and count how many times thee, thou, thy, and thine appear.

3.To help children become accustomed to using proper prayer language, find scriptures that include thee, thou, thy, and thine. Have the children look up a verse to find a specific word. For example: Alma 33:11, second word—thou. Have the children read or write the sentence in which the word is found.

4.Discuss with the children the importance of praying sincerely and thoughtfully.

5.Tell scripture stories about prayer, such as about Jesus in Gethsemane (Matt. 26:36–46), Enos (Enos 1), Hannah (1 Sam. 1:1–20), and Daniel (Dan. 6)

SCRIPTURE PRAYERS

Fill in the blanks with words in the scriptures that are “prayer language.”

3 NEPHI 13:9-13

 9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be _______ name.

10 _____ will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

 11 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

 12 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

 13 For _________  is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

MATTHEW 6:9-13

9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be ______ name.

 10 ______ kingdom come. _________ will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

 11 Give us this day our daily bread.

 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For _________ is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

“Do you have prayers in your family?  And when you do, do you go through the operation like the grinding of a piece of machinery, or do you bow in meekness and with a sincere desire to seek the blessing of God upon you and your household?  That is the way that we ought to do, and cultivate a spirit of devotion and trust in God, dedicating ourselves to him, and seeking his blessings.”

John Taylor

Quiet Prayers

By Patricia Russell

When I am very tired at night,

I do not try to pray.

I only kneel and wait awhile

To hear what God will say.

Sometimes He smiles and welcomes me

And bids me to draw near.

I almost feel His loving arms

And His whisper in my ear.

Then if I listen, oh, so still,

I almost hear Him sing

A song of golden ripened sheaves

And of the harvesting.

So that is why of all the day

My praying time is best.

When I am tired and come to Him,

He always gives me rest.

Just Around the Corner -- By Colleen P. Moravec

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God … But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. (James 1:5–6.)

Boy, am I glad I didn’t know what was coming! I might have decided to pull the covers up over my head and hide out for a while.  But there I was, Mike Tucker, standing unknowing in front of my bedroom mirror, adjusting my collar and giving my hair another quick once-over.

Suddenly there was a loud pounding on the door, and in barged my sister, Jill.

“Come on, curly locks,” she teased. “Your ride is here. Stop messing with your precious hair and get a move on.”

“You’re just jealous,” I said with admirable restraint.

Grabbing my jacket and the bag of munchies, I checked out with my parents, then hustled down to Brother Moore’s car.

Brother Moore is this real neat guy who moved into our ward a few months ago. He has a great grin, a wacky sense of humor, and a ton of patience, so naturally they made him our Primary teacher. It was his idea to drag the whole class over to the Conlins’ house for a little party that late-August night.

Matt Conlin is this gutsy classmate who’s been struggling with cancer and chemotherapy. Over the past year, he’d gotten thinner, weaker, and balder; but he always has a smile or a funny story whenever you see him.

We were there that night to celebrate the fact that he was in remission and could finally go back to school. He was a bit self-conscious about it, so we laughed it up and teased him about all the girls he was going to impress with his newfangled hairstyle.

“Yeah, it’s different all right,” he answered with a lopsided grin. “But if it’s so wonderful, how come you guys haven’t joined me?”

We were still laughing about it when we got back into the car to leave.

“You know, boys,” Brother Moore said, settling onto the front seat, “Matt’s putting on a brave front, but he’s really going to need our support, especially the first day he goes back to school.” He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel a few seconds. “Let’s do something really special for Matt,” he said with enthusiasm. “Come on—anybody have any great ideas?”

We all looked at each other and shrugged our shoulders. You had to be careful when Brother Moore got excited about something!

“No ideas now, huh? Well, you know what I always say—when in doubt, pray about it.”

So right then and there we said a prayer to help us all think of something special we could do for Matt to make his first day back at school easier.

“Now, boys,” Brother Moore added as he eased out into traffic, “when you pray for something, you have to be willing to listen for an answer. I want each of you to go home and listen for your own answer, OK?”

He made it sound so easy that I actually expected to wake up the next morning and find that the answer had been deposited in my brain overnight.

Unfortunately the next morning nothing was there that hadn’t been there before. By the next night I was pacing nervously back and forth in front of my bed, going over all the conversations I’d ever had with Matt, looking for a clue. The trouble was that I couldn’t remember him ever asking anybody for anything. I thought back to our party and his joking about the things that were really worrying him.

Immediately a totally outrageous and not very welcome idea popped into my head. No, no, I argued with myself, Matt was only joking. He’d never expect anyone to … I’ll sleep on it, I reasoned. By morning the “real” answer will come to me.

But three more days went by, and I decided that enough was enough! I didn’t like the answer I’d gotten, but it was the only one I’d gotten and it kept sneaking back into my head. So on the afternoon before school started, I mustered up as much courage as I could and went around the corner to visit a barbershop.

What happened when our Primary class went to pick up Matt for school the next day was extra special. Eddy Kowalski, the kid who got a C- in English last year, wrote one of the best poems I’ve ever read in my life. And Todd Stott and Larry King got permission from the principal to carry Matt’s books and lunch tray because he was still kind of weak. Every one of us had something special to share with Matt that day, and it was really super!

Yep, life is full of surprises. I wouldn’t have wanted to know that I’d end up bald on the first day of school. But it’s sure nice to know that the answers are there, right where you need them, just around the corner.