Jesus' Special Prayer

Jesus gave us an amazing prayer (see Matthew 6:9-13)!

Karen Holford loves having real fun with her three young grandchildren.

JESUS GAVE US AN AMAZING PRAYER (see Matthew 6:9-13)! When I was a child people said this prayer in a very boring way, and I didn’t realize how wonderful it was until I was grown up. Now I really like saying it quietly to myself and thinking about the special meaning in each line. Here are a few things you can do to explore Jesus’ special prayer.

Our Father

Discover more about God’s fatherly love. Read Psalm 23, Psalm 103, and 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 and discover some of the many ways God loves you. Ask your family for their favorite verses about God’s love too. God loves us in more ways than we can imagine. See how many you can find!

 

All About God's Love

Jesus prayed His special prayer to help us understand how much God loves us. Below you will find the lines of the prayer and what they tell us about God’s love on the right. Under "What It Tells Us About God's Love" has been jumbled up! Sort them out again by drawing lines between the words of the prayer and what they tell us about God’s love.

 

JESUS’ SPECIAL PRAYER (NKJV)                         WHAT IT TELLS US ABOUT GOD’S LOVE
Our Father in heaven                                                 God wants to be our King today and forever.


Hallowed be Your name                                             God lovingly forgives us when we make mistakes,
                                                                                   and we need to forgive others too.


Your kingdom come                                                   God lovingly helps us to make good choices when
                                                                                   we are tempted to make bad ones.


Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven             God lovingly protects us from Satan and his tricks.


Give us this day our daily bread                                God loves us like the best Father ever.


And forgive us our debts as we forgive our               It's important for us to do what God knows is best for us,
debtors                                                                       just like the angels do in heaven.


And do not lead us into temptation                           God is holy, so we worship His name.


But deliver us from the evil one                                God will always be our strong, glorious, and loving King.
 
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and           God lovingly provides everything we need.

the glory forever 

 

A FATHER’S LOVE!
Make a simple card for your father, grandfather, or someone else you love. Fold a piece of heavy paper or cardstock
to make a card. Cut out a heart shape to fit on the front.


Make a horizontal fold across the heart just below the central dip in the top of the heart. Spread a thin layer of glue over the top section of the heart. Stick the top of the heart to the front of the card. When the glue is dry, write on the front of the heart: “You show me God’s love when you . . .” Then lift up the lower half of the heart and write something your father or grandfather does to show you God’s love, such as “help me” or “forgive me” or “are kind to me.”


Make sure your writing will be covered by the heart when you fold it down again. You can draw a very faint pencil
line around the very edges of the paper heart to help you stay inside the shape. Erase the lines after you have written your message.


Write your name and a greeting inside the card. Then give it to the person as a surprise. You could make one for your mother or grandmother too!

 

HALLOWED BE YOUR NAME
God has so many names! How many can you find? Write the letters of the alphabet down one side of a sheet of  paper and see if you can discover at least one name of God beginning with each letter of the alphabet. If you can’t find a name for one of the letters, find a word that describes God instead. Examples: A—Almighty, B—
Bridegroom, C—Creator.

 

YOUR KINGDOM COME
Imagine a place where God is the King! In what ways would our world be different if everyone lived in a kingdom of peace and love and joy? Draw a picture or write the story of your day in a world where God is King and everything is perfect.


We want Jesus to come soon! Write a letter to Jesus telling Him why you want Him to come back soon. Or cut out a white paper cloud shape. Cut strips of paper in the colors of a rainbow and stick them to the back of the cloud so that the colored strips radiate out from the cloud. On each strip of paper write a Bible verse about Jesus coming back to take us to heaven.

 

YOUR WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN
It’s God’s will that we love Him and love each other (Matthew 22:37, 38). Cut out a big paper heart. On one side write three ways that you could show God how much you love Him. On the other side write three ways that you could show lovingkindness to another person today. Do all the things you wrote down. Next to each thing you did, draw a face (emoticon) to show how you felt after each activity. How do you think God felt when you did these 
lovely things? And how do you think the people felt?

 

GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD
Think about everything you have eaten in the past 24 hours and thank God for each thing you ate. Pray for the people who planted and harvested the food, packaged it, transported it, and sold it. Hundreds of people help to feed us every day!


Help make some bread, crackers, healthful muffins, or biscuits. Take them to someone you know, and you will help
God to provide their daily bread. Or make a food parcel with all the food a family needs for a whole day and leave it on the doorstep of a needy family.


Think about everything you have eaten in the past 24 hours and thank God for each thing you ate. Pray for the people who planted and harvested the food, packaged it, transported it, and sold it. Hundreds of
people help to feed us every day!


Help make some bread, crackers, healthful muffins, or biscuits. Take them to someone you know, and you will help
God to provide their daily bread. Or make a food parcel with all the food a family needs for a whole day and leave it on the doorstep of a needy family.

 

FORGIVE US OUR SINS
Take a large, deep baking pan and half fill it with salt or very dry sand. Write what you have done wrong in the salt or
sand, and then pray for God’s forgiveness. Shake the pan from side to side as you pray or wipe your hand over the salt. When you open your eyes the sin will have disappeared into the salt and no one can ever find it again. Thank God for His amazing forgiveness!

 

LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION
God leads us away from temptation! Draw a signpost on a sheet of paper. Draw the tall post on the left side of the paper, and draw four to six arrows pointing to the right side, like a signpost on the road. What are some of your temptations? On each arrow write a Bible promise or verse that will help you to be strong when you are tempted. Ask your parents to help you find the verses. Then choose a few of these verses to memorize. Whenever you feel tempted, say one of these verses instead. That’s exactly what Jesus did when Satan came to tempt Him in
the wilderness.

 

PUT IT INTO ACTION!
Create actions for every line of Jesus’ special prayer. He loves you so much, and He always wants to welcome you with open arms! Start your prayer by giving yourself a big hug from God as you say the words “Our Father,” then point to heaven and just keep going. Teach your action prayer to your whole family. Watch me say this prayer with the actions our family uses. Go to www.youtube.com and search for “Hugging the Lord’s Prayer with Karen Holford.”

 

SCRAPBOOK YOUR PRAYER!

Make a scrapbook of Jesus’ special prayer. This can be a fun Sabbath project for your whole family. Write each line of the prayer on a different page and decorate the page with pictures and words. You could stick pictures of children and fathers on the page that says “Our Father.” Find pictures of food for “Give us this day our daily bread.” Make
the book in order to help your younger siblings learn the prayer. Or use it to journal your thoughts and ideas about this special prayer.