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How to Pray...

Hearing God

Week: How to Pray...

  • P.R.A.Y
  • Pause
  • Rejoice
  • Reflect
  • Ask
  • Yes
Unathi Max
With Unathi and Max
Welcome to Lectio for Families. This week, we are continuing to use content from Pete Greig’s and Gemma’s Hunt’s book, How to Pray: A Guide for Young Explorers*, to help us grow in prayer together.

As usual, 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.


Pause

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

Prayer of Welcome

Our Father in heaven, we know that You are with us and that You want to talk with us – so we respond very simply by saying: ‘Here we are, we’re ready. Teach us how to pray.’


Rejoice

Memory Verse

We REJOICE and celebrate God’s goodness with this week’s memory verse:

God, help us to remember Your Word.


Reflect

Bible Reading

Today we’re REFLECTING on how God spoke to the prophet Elijah. Elijah was not in a good place. The people around him were trying to kill him and he didn’t know what to do.

Read by Max
1 Kings 19:11-12
The Lord said to Elijah, ‘Go, stand in front of me on the mountain, and I will pass by you.’ Then a very strong wind blew until it caused the mountains to fall apart and large rocks to break in front of the Lord . But the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind, there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake, there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire, there was a quiet, gentle sound.
1 Kings 19:11-12 (NCV)

Elijah was obviously worried and needed to be reminded to listen to God’s voice. Sometimes, when we pray, we can get so carried away with all the things that we want to say to God that we forget that prayer isn’t just a one-way thing! Prayer is a conversation, and to have a good conversation we need to leave space to hear what God is saying to us too.

Let’s press pause and try a little activity. Send one person to the other side of the room and ask them to whisper a sentence. Let’s see if we can hear what they say. No lip-reading allowed!

  • PAUSE the audio player now

Ask

ASK Prayers

And now, we ASK God to help us and others.

Lord Jesus, we ASK that our prayers today would be the start of a conversation with You. Help us to open our minds, our hearts, and our ears to hear what You want to say to us.

  • OPTIONAL: PAUSE the audio player now and pray

Sometimes it can be really hard to hear from God, maybe because we’re busy or worrying about something. Let’s pray for people who feel like this now.

Loving Father, we ASK that You would be close to those who are struggling to hear Your voice, whispering words of comfort and encouragement to them.

  • OPTIONAL: PAUSE the audio player now and pray

Yes

Bible Reading

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.

1 Kings 19:11-12
The Lord said to Elijah, ‘Go, stand in front of me on the mountain, and I will pass by you.’ Then a very strong wind blew until it caused the mountains to fall apart and large rocks to break in front of the Lord . But the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind, there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake, there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire, there was a quiet, gentle sound.
1 Kings 19:11-12 (NCV)

What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?

  • OPTIONAL: PAUSE the audio player now and tell each other

YES Prayer

And now, let’s say YES to God together.

Father God, we say YES to having a good conversation with You. We will try to keep our eyes and ears open, our thoughts focussed, and our hearts ready for whatever You want to say to us.

Pause

Memory Verse

After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:

Closing Prayer

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.

Content from today’s Lectio for Families is adapted from Pete Greig and Gemma Hunt’s book, ‘How to Pray: A Guide for Young Explorers’ (Hodder & Stoughton, 2022). Why not order your own copy? https://www.24-7prayer.com/resource/how-to-pray-a-guide-for-young-explorers/

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Your Memory Verse

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Unathi

Unathi

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.

Max

Max

Max is 9 years old and lives in Melbourne, Australia with his older brother and mum and dad. He often rides his bike to school and enjoys being creative by drawing or building with Lego. Max is also learning how to play the electric guitar and loves turning it up loud!

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