Teach Us to Pray

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While on earth, the Lord Himself taught us how to pray. The Lord’s Prayer begins “Our Father in heaven” and continues with words of praise, thanks and petition. In guiding us to look to the Lord and ask Him for help, it has all of the essential elements of prayer.

The Lord’s Prayer can provide a powerful connection with the Lord and His angels. It also helps to protect us from evil. When we say this prayer on earth and understand it on one level, the angels of heaven hear and understand it on another. But even during our earthly lives, we can continue to learn more about the inner meaning of this beloved prayer.

The Story

Read aloud Matthew 6:5-15.

Ideas for discussion

  1. In the Sermon on the Mount the Lord talked about the wrong way to pray before teaching them the prayer that begins with “Our Father.”
  2. What did Jesus say that hypocrites do when they pray? (They pray where others can see them, in public places.)
  3. Where did the Lord say that people should pray? (Go into your room and shut the door. Pray to the Lord in private.)
  4. What did He say about “vain repetitions” in prayer? (Saying something over and over again will not increase your chances of having your prayer answered in the way you want.)
  5. The Lord already knows what we need before we ask Him. Why is it still important for us to pray?
  6. The angels in heaven say the Lord’s Prayer every day.
  7. The Lord’s Prayer is a prayer that we can use all our lives.
  8. There are infinite levels of meaning in the Lord’s Prayer, so there is always something more that we can learn from it. As we say this prayer, the Lord can help us understand it more and more.
  9. The Lord’s Prayer never mentions I, me, or my, but only we, us, our, and Thy will be done (Ormond Odhner). Why might this be?

Read more about the Lord’s Prayer

  • The Lord’s Prayer by Patrick A. Rose (ages 18 and up)
    The Lord wants us to pray to Him. He wants us to communicate with Him and to ask Him for spiritual life, not as a way of telling Him what we need, but as a way of opening our minds to what He already offers us.
  • Our Father Who Art in Heaven by Kenneth O. Stroh (ages 7-14)
    As you learn more and more about this prayer, you will be learning how to turn your minds and open your hearts toward the Lord when you kneel down and pray to Him. In this way you will be making yourselves ready to receive the blessings and the happiness of heaven.

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