Prayer.....make it as easy or difficult as you want.

A few weeks ago we talked about prayer in Elementary.  I approached the subject with our early arriver students as prayer can be difficult.  A 1^st grade girl looked at me like I was crazy.  She proclaimed, “Praying is so easy.”  My heart soared.  I love God’s children so much.  

 When does this change?   Have you even been in a group of adults when you are about to start a bible study, a dinner group, etc.  When it comes time to pray we look down, avoid the eyes of others hoping that the host will not call upon us to pray.  

So, how do we pray?  

1 Make it simple.  God loves us for who we are.  So, let your prayers be real, be simple.  This year our family is taking all of our Christmas cards and praying for every family that sent us a card this year.  Sound difficult right?  Nope.  We are pulling out one card each week and putting that family on our fridge.  So, when we walk by the fridge we will pray for them.  We will think of them.  Simple.

   Use the example that Jesus gave us: Pray with Honor, Pry with a caring heart, ask for Forgiveness, and ask for Guidance.  (Below is taken from our Curriculum)

Luke 11:2, ‘Father, may your name be honored. May your kingdom come.  (NIrV)The first part of Jesus’ prayer is about HONOR.

“God, You are the greatest. There is no one like You. You are in control of everything and You know everything, and yet You still love us. Please help me to HONOR who You are with the way I live and the way I talk about You. I give You praise, because You are good and so worthy of my praise. You are my King and I will follow You. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

Luke 11:3.‘Give us each day our daily bread.’ (NIrV) “The prayer Jesus gave His disciples was also about CARE.”

God, thank You for the way You take care of me every day. I know there are a lot of things I WANT and I can be pretty selfish sometimes, but You always give me what I NEED. Help me not to worry about the future, but to trust that You will provide for me tomorrow just like You have provided for me today. I ask these things in Jesus’ name, amen.

Luke 11:4a ‘Forgive us our sins, as we also forgive everyone who sins against us.’ (NIrV)In His prayer, Jesus also talks about FORGIVENESS.”

 “God, there are times when I have really messed up. I have hurt other people, and more importantly, I have disobeyed You. Thank You, God, that when I sin, I can ask for Your forgiveness. I also know there are times when others will hurt me and sin against me. In those times, please help me to forgive them the way You have already forgiven me. I ask these things in Jesus’ name, amen.”

Read Luke 11:4b ‘Keep us from falling into sin when we are tempted.’ (NIrV)The prayer Jesus gave His disciples was also about GUIDANCE.

 “God, life can be pretty confusing sometimes. There are a lot of temptations and it can be pretty easy to mess up. I need Your guidance to stay away from the things You have asked me to and to live the way You want me to live. Please give me Your wisdom so I can make the right choices. I ask these things in Jesus’ name, amen.”