Paul & Prayer

Biblical faith if more than just belief; it is also what we DO with that faith. God's story is filled with people of faith who DO the things God calls them to do. Noah demonstrated his faith by building an ark. Abraham demonstrated his faith by moving to a new home. Men and women of faith fought giants, faced lions, moved to foreign lands and fought foreign armies.

The heroes of the early church are also known for what they did to demonstrate their faith in God. Silas and Paul faced persecution when they shared the gospel. Dorcas demonstrated her faith by caring for the orphans and the poor. Timothy was mentored by Paul to be a great evangelist. James helped to grow the local church through his leadership. 

One of the things many of these followers of God had in common is they had a  relationship with God. They prayed, or talked to God regularly, about what they needed from God. Paul recorded many of his prayers in his letters to his friends and churches. 

Key Themes: 
1. We demonstrate our faith by what we do! 
2. Prayer connects us to God through Jesus. 
3. Prayer allows to partner with God and access his power to do hard things. ​

Memory Verse

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have-not heard?” Romans 10:13, 14 ​

Songs

Books of the New Testament
Apostles Song
Be Still and Know
Do Lord
Father God
Let Us Pray
Lord I Lift Your Name on High
Lord My Desire
Read Your Bible and Pray Every Day
Wanna Be
We Fall Down
​You're the One

Story

Begin Class with Songs, Games, Table Activity, or Sharing Time
 
Open Class in Prayer

Introducing the Story Ideas
1. Prayer Requests
Make a sign or write Prayer Requests on the board. Tell the children that today we are going to discuss prayer. Ask them to share prayer requests they have for our prayer time at the end of class. Be prepared to pray for grandmas, grandpas, puppies, kittens and fish! If possible, leave it up and check in on the progress week to week. Put star or sticker next to prayer requests that God answers! 
 
​2. Homemade Stethoscope
​You will need: electrical tape, a Bible, One plastic funnel and 1 ft of plastic or rubber tubing for each homemade stethoscope. SAY: Listen! Can you hear your heart beating? Let’s try to hear our hearts beat after we do 20 jumping jacks. Ready? Go! 

Afterward, ask,

• Can you hear your heart beating now?
• Can you feel it beating?
• What does it sound or feel like?

SAY: Let’s try an experiment to see if we can hear our hearts more clearly. We’re going to make stethoscopes to help us listen to our hearts.
Give each pair a funnel and 1 foot of tubing. Show kids how to fit the tubing over the funnel’s spout. If the tubing doesn’t fit tightly on the funnel’s spout, secure it with tape. Partners can listen to each other’s hearts by having one child put the funnel over his heart while the other partner listens through the end of the tubing.

After every child has had a chance to listen, say: Your heart pumps blood 24 hours a day. There are valves in your heart that keep the blood moving through your body. These valves open and close as the heart pumps the blood. That’s what makes the sound of your heartbeat.

Just like this helps us hear our heart beat, prayer allows God to hear our heart in a special way too. Prayer connects our heart to God's heart and when we do that it gives us power! (Idea adapted from childrensministry.com)


3. Prayer Stations
Set up different stations up inside your classroom or in a hallway. You can set up stations like: Praise, Healing, Worries, etc. Let the kids write post-its for each station and then take a moment to make that prayer request to God. I love how kidminmama did it! 

Story

Story: Paul was an amazing evangelist for Jesus and the spread of the gospel. He mentored young Christians. He ministered to growing churches. He faced many trials during this time. One of the things we know Paul did was pray. 

Paul THANKED GOD for his fellow Christians. 
Romans 1:8-10; Ephesians 1:16; 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3

Paul ASKED for wisdom and knowledge. 
Ephesians 1:17; Colossians 1: 9

Paul ASKED for peace and unity. 
Romans 15: 5-6; 2 Thessalonians 3:16

Paul PRAYED for his fellow Christians to grow. 
Ephesians 1:18-19; Ephesians 3:16-19; Philippians 1:9-11

Paul PRAISED God in his prayers. 
2 Corinthians 1:3; Ephesians 1:3; 2 Corinthians 9:13

Paul ASKED God for more opportunities to spread the gospel. 
1 Thessalonians 3:9-10

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul begins his letter with prayer. This letter would have been read when the Philippian church gathered. Let's pretend that we are Philippians at church, listening to someone read the letter Paul wrote to us. 

PLAY the video of The Book of Philippians Chapter 1 or read Philippians 1 in the Bible. 
EMPHASIZE that:

• Paul began his letter and prayer with praise. 
• Paul prayed for the Philippians.   
• Prayer helped Paul during his trials and troubles on Earth. 

Visual Aids

Video: How To Pray by Douglas Talks

Video: 5 Finger Prayer by Uncle Charlie

Video: 4 Stories on Why Prayer is Important for Kids by Minno

God is...

Connect the story back to God and his character. Explain how this story fits into God's overall story.  Ideas: God is...listening, our father, always with you, etc. 

Activities

5 Finger Prayer Craft from Oriental Trading

5 Finger Prayer Worksheet

Prayer Journal
Find inexpensive journals at the dollar store and provide stickers to decorate the outside. Let them make their own prayer journals. You can also use a craft kit like this one from Oriental Trading. 

God Hears When I Pray Sign from Oriental Trading

I Can Pray When I...Wheel by Crafting The Word of God