Week: Prayer - Paul's prayer for us
Each day we will simply pray (P.R.A.Y.) together.
P: PAUSING to be still.
R: REJOICING with a Memory Verse and REFLECTING on some verses from the Bible.
A: ASKING God to help us and others.
Y: saying YES to God’s ways.
We start by pausing and taking a deep breath:
In and out.
In and out.
We remember that God is here, and so together we prepare ourselves to be with God.
Pause
Father God, as we draw near to You, please draw near to us too. Teach us to pray. Speak, Lord, we’re listening.
We REJOICE and celebrate God’s goodness with this week’s memory verse:
Read by Eli
Ephesians 6:18
Pray in the Spirit at all times with all kinds of prayers, asking for everything you need.
Ephesians 6:18a (NCV)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
This week we have been REFLECTING on the prayer Paul prayed at the beginning of his letter to the church in Ephesus. Today we are REFLECTING on a section from the end of the same letter, where Paul teaches them how to pray.
Read by Eli
Ephesians 6:18-19
Pray in the Spirit at all times with all kinds of prayers, asking for everything you need. To do this you must always be ready and never give up. Always pray for all God’s people. Also pray for me that when I speak, God will give me words so that I can tell the secret of the Good News without fear.
Ephesians 6:18-19 (NCV)
(If you spotted this week’s memory verse in today’s Bible reading, well done!)
These few verses are packed with great teaching about prayer. Paul tells us to pray all the time, and in every possible way. He tells us to use our whole selves – our heart and soul and body. He tells us to keep going and not give up praying, even when things feel hard. And He encourages us to pray for Christians, especially those who talk with other people about Jesus. As someone once said about prayer; Keep it simple. Keep it real. Keep it up.
Paul reminds us that we can talk to God with ‘all kinds of prayer’. Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question, which is: What different ways do we like to pray? Have we tried any new ways over the last few months?
Let’s put this into practice for a moment – let’s try a different way of praying. Why don’t we use the breath prayer that we used a few minutes ago one more time. As we breathe out, let’s imagine letting go of things that we’ve been worried about recently. And as we breathe in, let’s imagine being filled with God’s peace.
Okay, here we go…
In and out.
In and out.
And one final time…
In and out.
Lord Jesus, we thank You that we can give all of our worries to you because You care for us. (1 Peter 5:7)
Paul encourages us to pray for those who tell other people about Jesus. Sometimes these people are called ‘evangelists’, which simply means ‘people who tell good news’.
Holy Spirit, we ASK you to be with those who boldly and courageously tell other people the good news about Jesus. Give them the right words to say at the right time to the right people.
As we read the Bible again, let’s listen for a word or a phrase that the Holy Spirit might want to say to us from today’s verses.
Ephesians 6:18-19
Pray in the Spirit at all times with all kinds of prayers, asking for everything you need. To do this you must always be ready and never give up. Always pray for all God’s people. Also pray for me that when I speak, God will give me words so that I can tell the secret of the Good News without fear.
Ephesians 6:18-19 (NCV)
What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?
And now, let’s say YES to God together.
Father God, we say YES, we want to learn more about how to pray all the time, and in all kinds of ways. Fill us your Spirit, and give us courage to try new things in prayer.
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:
Ephesians 6:18
Pray in the Spirit at all times with all kinds of prayers, asking for everything you need.
Ephesians 6:18a (NCV)
Let’s put a hand on our heart.
Father God, fill us with Your love. Help us to love You, and everything that You’ve made.
Let’s point to our eyes.
Lord Jesus, help us to see You, and to see others the way that You see them too.
Let’s point to our ears.
Holy Spirit, help us to hear You, and give us courage to do what You say.
Unathi lives in Johannesburg, South Africa, with her husband and 5 kids; and has a passion for seeing families thriving.
You’ll most likely find her homeschooling the tribe, reading, writing, or dreaming about the next DIY project.
She also loves good coffee, dark chocolate and hiking.
Eli is 11 and lives in Melbourne, Victoria with his mum, dad and two younger sisters. He enjoys music, reading, riding his skateboard and playing soccer.
