Week: Authentic Prayer
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
Lord God, we look forward to discovering more of Your wisdom in the Old Testament. Show us the way You want us to live, and help us to walk in Your ways today.
We REJOICE and celebrate God’s goodness with this week’s memory verse:
Read by Jackson R
1 Thessalonians 5:17-18
Pray continually, and give thanks whatever happens. That is what God wants for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 (NCV)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
When David became King, the previous King, a man named Saul, was jealous and angry. Saul tried to kill David a few times, but each time he tried God saved David. On one of these occasions, David wrote today’s Psalm as his prayer of gratitude to God…
Read by Jackson R
Psalm 18:1-2,6
I love you, Lord. You are my strength.
The Lord is my rock, my protection, my Savior.
My God is my rock.
I can run to him for safety.
He is my shield and my saving strength, my defender.
In my trouble I called to the Lord.
I cried out to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice;
my call for help reached his ears.
Psalm 18:1-2,6 (NCV)
Lots of David’s Psalms are filled with gratitude and thankfulness. Even when things aren’t going well, David finds a way to ‘give thanks whatever happens’, as it says in this week’s memory verse.
Having an ‘attitude of gratitude’ isn’t always easy, but it is good for us. Some researchers even say that being grateful – giving thanks regularly – can make us feel a bit happier! *
Let’s pause and talk about today’s question, which is: What are we grateful for so far this week? Let’s try and choose at least three things each.
And now we ASK God to help us and others.
Father God, we’re grateful for all the things we’ve just talked about… for family and friends, for the homes that we live in, for mountains and skateboards and apple crumble and knitted scarves and seashells, and pets. We ASK You to help us keep an attitude of gratitude every day.
In today’s Psalm, David describes God in lots of ways… ‘my strength’, ‘my rock’, ‘my protection’, ‘my Saviour’, ‘my shield’, ‘my defender’. Let’s think of someone we know who may need God to be one of these things for them today, and let’s quietly pray our own prayer for them now.
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.
Psalm 18:1-2,6
I love you, Lord. You are my strength.
The Lord is my rock, my protection, my Savior.
My God is my rock.
I can run to him for safety.
He is my shield and my saving strength, my defender.
In my trouble I called to the Lord.
I cried out to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice;
my call for help reached his ears.
Psalm 18:1-2,6 (NCV)
What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?
And now, let’s say YES to God together.
Loving God, thank You for the wisdom that we’ve heard from Your Word today. We say YES to walking the way that You want us to. We say YES to having an attitude of gratitude, being thankful even when things are hard.
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:
1 Thessalonians 5:17-18
Pray continually, and give thanks whatever happens. That is what God wants for You in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 (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.
*https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/giving-thanks-can-make-you-happier
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.
Jackson is 11 and lives with his younger brother and parents in Surrey. He loves pretty much all sport but his favourites are football, golf and jumping off high stuff into water! He enjoys gaming and is always ready to build something on Minecraft.
