Memorize the Lord’s Prayer as a family:

Matthew 6:9-13: This then is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

The Lord’s Prayer. Prayer is talking to God, and talking to God is about listening and speaking. Last week we learned to use silence to listen to God. This week Jesus teaches us to how to speak to God. He taught us the Lord’s Prayer, which is how we love God and love others through prayer (see Luke 10:27).  

Because we love God:

• We tell God why we love him and think he is great (worship – “Hallowed be your name”).
• We want what God wants. (surrender – “your kingdom come, your will be done”)

Because we love our neighbor:

• We pray for what we need today. (daily bread)
• We pray for our forgiveness as we forgive others (forgiveness).
• We pray that God will protect us from doing bad things and from Satan, the evil one. (protection)

Discuss. There are five parts to the Lord’s Prayer: worship and surrender (love God) and daily bread, forgiveness, and protection (love others).  Which parts do we usually include when we pray together? Which parts do we sometimes miss?

Activity. Pray through the outline of the Lord’s Prayer together.

1. Worship – short prayers that tell God how great he is or prayers that say “thank you” to God.
2. Surrender – ask God to help you want what he wants in our lives and in our world.
3. Daily needs  – Ask God for what your family needs today. Be sure to include people outside the family who may also have needs.
4. Forgiveness – Ask God to forgive our sins as a family as to help us forgive each other.
5. Protection Ask God to protect your family from Satan, but also from doing bad things.

Set Goals.  Make a plan as a family to pray through the outline of the Lord’s Prayer (worship, surrender, daily needs, forgiveness, and protection), at bedtime or whenever your family typically prays (or start a new tradition!).