The Lord's Prayer

I don't know about you, but when I talk to someone on the telephone, I sometimes have a hard time thinking of what I want to say. I sometimes call someone and they pick up the phone and say, "Hello".

I usually say something like, "Hi, this is (your name). How are you doing?"

They reply, "I'm fine, how are you?"

I answer, "I'm fine."

That's when I have a hard time thinking of what to say next. Has that ever happened to you?

You know, prayer is a little bit like calling God on the phone. We say, "Hello, God" and then it is sometimes hard to think of what we should say next.

If we are saying a prayer before going to bed, we might say something like, "Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord, my soul will keep."

Or, if we are saying a prayer before eating, we might say, "Dear God, thank you for this food."

You know, Jesus knows that we might sometimes have a hard time knowing how to pray. That is why he gave us an example of how we should pray. It is what we usually call "The Lord's Prayer." Do you know the Lord's prayer? If you know it, you can say it with me. It goes like this. (If you have a poster with the prayer on it, hold it up so that they can follow along as you recite the prayer.)

Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

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

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

That is a wonderful prayer, isn't it? Jesus gave it as an example so that we would know what to say when we talk to our Heavenly Father.

Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, we are thankful for the example that Jesus gave us so that we would know how to pray. Help us to understand that prayer is talking to you, thanking you for all you do for us, asking you to lead us in our daily life, and telling you what is on our mind. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.