"The whole trouble is that -- literally -- we do not know what is good for us; and what makes the trouble still worse is that we think we do. We have our own plans for our happiness, and too often we merely regard God as somebody who will help us to accomplish them. The true state of affairs is just the opposite. God has His plans for our happiness, and He is waiting for us to help Him to accomplish them. And let us be quite clear about it: We cannot improve on God's plans." This Tremendous Lover, M. Eugene Boylan, O.C.R.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Prayer in our Life: How to Listen to God

This is the second lesson from the Prayer in our Life series available through God with Us Publications. Prayer in our Life is one of the curriculums I will be using as a foundation this year. This particular program can be found here. It is seven lessons long and has three levels of instruction on each topic geared toward different age groups. While I am using this program as my foundation, following is the lesson I created to teach children about prayer for this week.

This weeks theme is to teach the children that prayer is not just talking to God, but listening to His voice as well. Silence is not easily mastered by children (or me!), but it is not too soon to start trying! We will focus on not only hearing God's voice in the silence, but also hearing God's voice in His Word, the Bible. My lesson plan can be found here.


Little kids will get to make their own mini-"icon corner." My girls love having their own prayer space. This is a simple craft that could be hung near the child's bed at home, or taken with them to a private place where they can sit and talk to God on their own. The background is a basic felt sheet cut in half. I have all different colors for the children. Then, I printed out and laminated a variety of icons and items they might find in a regular icon corner. I have The Theotokos icon, St. John of the Desert icon (our parish patron), Jesus the Good Shepherd icon, incense, Holy Water, Holy Oil, The Bible, flowers, the Crucifix, icon of Christ the Teacher, and a candle for the children to choose from. (Click on each item to print your own.) Each item has Velcro attached to the back and easily "holds" on to the felt. Ahead of time, I sewed a simple loop of ribbon at the top to hang up the craft.

Big kids will be doing a Bible verse search with me. We will discuss what the Bible says about prayer and in turn, learn about looking verses up in the Bible. You can print out that worksheet here.

That's it for this week! May God bless our work with His children!
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1 comment:

  1. CherylSeptember 24, 2011 at 6:18 AM

    What a great lesson plan on praying! I think that all kids (not just the little ones) need a refresher every year on prayer, how to pray, where we pray, etc. Thank you for inspiring me for my own lesson on this topic.

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