Lord’s Prayer Playlist – Grosse Pointe Memorial Church

Teach Us to Pray
One of the most obvious (but perhaps one of the hardest and most misunderstood) practices that helps us grow closer to Jesus is prayer. Conversation with Jesus, just like conversation with your best friends, is critical to making our relationship with him the center of our lives. But conversation, just like in real life, doesn’t always have to feel amazing. And it does not always have to be perfect.

The Lord’s Prayer is the prayer that Jesus taught the disciples and we continue to pray it today. Prayer can be said in many ways, through word, music, art and movement. For this discussion, lets begin at when Jesus introduced prayer to the disciples.

Start by reading the Bible Story or watching the video and going through the wondering/discussion questions. Then pick activities your family or small group would like to do, as many or few as you like. Close your time with prayer – use your own or the one provided.

Bible Story
Read Matthew 6:5-15 in your favorite Bible. (The Lord’s Prayer is also found in Luke 11:1-4). Some of the words might be a little different than what you may say in your church. What is the same? What is different?

Wonder/Discussion Questions

For children

I wonder what the disciples thought when Jesus taught them this prayer.
I wonder what the most important part of The Lord’s Prayer is.
What are some things you can pray to God about?

For Youth and Adults

Which part of the Lord’s Prayer do you relate to the best?
Think of a situation that has happened in your life and think about how would praying ‘Thy will be done’ change how you looked at the situation? Share if you would like.
Why do you think Jesus gave the disciples this prayer?

Prayer

Say The Lord’s Prayer together (adapt the words for the version you are familiar with)
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
thy will be done on 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 now and forever. Amen.

Activities

Prayer Journal – Keep a prayer journal by yourself or as a family. Think of it as writing a letter to God or drawing a picture for God. You can share all your feelings with God: happy, sad, angry, confused, curious or anything else you feel. God will always listen.

Praying through Movement
Close your eyes, bow your head and fold your hands in your lap- the typical prayer pose. While doing these three things helps us to focus on what we are saying, there are many ways to lift our thoughts and words to God.
Try different postures and poses such as: