Armed and ready for action!
key words
biblical reference
Ephesians 6:18-20; James 5:13-20
armor
of God, stand
lesson objective
That the students understand prayer is an indispensable resource in our fight against evil and we can pray for all our needs
memory verse
“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand” (Ephesians 6:13, NIV*).
prepare yourself to teach
Some preadolescents see prayer as something that’s practiced before eating, going to bed, when facing a problem, or during family devotions. They repeat the prayers they learned when they were younger without thinking about the great resource that prayer is. Preadolescents must understand that prayer is direct access to God. Praying is more than repeating meaningless words. It is more than just thanking him for food, or that God accompanies us for the rest of the day without major problems. To pray is to talk, like the conversations we have with our parents, siblings or friends.
In order for them to truly understand the power and importance of prayer, your students need to see it in action. You can do two things. First, pray with and for your students in their presence. Second, write down the prayer requests or needs, and the answers to the prayers, including your own requests. Keep a prayer diary. During the session go to the previous week’s requests. Review the requests and encourage the students to tell about the responses received. Continue to pray for those “still pending” needs. This interaction in prayer should be something prominent, a priority, in your group. It is important that your students grow in their understanding of the power and privilege of praying.
biblical commentary
Very often as Christians, we see prayer as the last resort. It is what we turn to when all else fails. This perspective is the opposite of the correct one. Prayer is our greatest offensive weapon in a world overwhelmed by sin. Prayer is where we find the amazing, because we have a personal, two-way conversation with God.
Christianity is unique in the sense of being the only religion that has a personal and living God. It is the only religion where it is possible to have access to the Creator. It is the only religion that provides its people with conversation in prayer with God. We must live in unceasing, ongoing prayer in response to this amazing gift.
How is that possible? Our lives can be so well tuned to God that everything we do, say and choose is a prayer. In addition, prayer can be both a ritual and a habit. By spending time, quality planned time, each day with God, prayer becomes a spontaneous reaction for each and every situation. When we receive a phone call from a friend, our first response may be to offer a brief prayer. When we receive a letter or an e-mail from a family member at a time of crisis, we first pray.
As the habit of prayer grows, we’ll find greater dependence upon God. Every choice, every desire, every need can be presented to our Lord in prayer.
Pray without ceasing; pray in faith. And as James says, let’s pray for one another. Live a life of prayer in front of your students. Above all, pray for your fellow believers. It is the prayer support that gives us the spiritual discernment we need to live in victory over sin. It is prayer that will give us the strength we need to be strong for God, even when faced with evil that is beyond understanding.
The power of God is greater than we can imagine. The results of prayer, the answers we receive, will go beyond what our thoughts imagine. To pray without ceasing is to have unlimited hope.
Prayer retreat
As you prepare this lesson about prayer, set aside a time to pray. Reserve a few hours, a day or as much time as you can for you and God. Spend a night of quiet and loving conversation with him. Let God direct your prayer. Let him guide you on what, why and who to pray for.
introduce the lesson
Important words
Write the important words and their meaning on poster board or paper to add to the mural of God’s armor.
Prayer/ pray: Talk with God. It includes an introduction as a greeting: “Dear God ....” It also includes worship or praise and a time of gratitude. There is no established order for the way we should pray.
Prayer requests: Needs for ourselves and others which we request God’s intervention on our behalf.
Faith: Trust that God will do what he has promised. We have faith in God when we put him first in our lives and allow him to lead us in decision-making.
Letters and hidden word
Pass out Student Activity Sheet #408-A. Ask the students to find the hidden letters in the picture to decipher the word (PRAY). Ask: “When do you prefer to communicate (pray) with God? Do you have special times with your families to pray? What is the most important request you have made to the Lord? Can you tell us about that?”
You can tell the students about special requests you have made and how the Lord answered or did not answer as you asked, and how you felt. Take this opportunity to explain that prayer does not mean that the Lord will answer everything we ask with a yes. Or that the Lord does not listen to us because there is no response according to when we want, or the way we want.
teach the lesson
A prayer of faith
Pass out Student Activity Sheet #408-B and #408-C. Use them to responsively read James 5:13-20.
Ask: “Why do you think God calls us to pray?” (Prayer is our opportunity to speak with him. It is through prayer that we gain strength and understanding.) Say: “To pray is to talk with God. When we love someone, we want to talk to that person. When we love God, we want to talk to him. How do you know when your parents want you to do something?” (Our parents tell us.) Ask: “Would we know what our parents want if we never talk to them? Will we know things if we do not listen?” (No) Say: “The same goes for God. We need to spend time talking with him to know what he wants us to do. We have to listen to what he tells us through the Bible, from other people and also through our conversations with him through prayer.”
connect the lesson
Prayer Pyramid
Give the group Student Activity Sheet #408-D (Pyramid of Prayer). Ask them to write or think about how they can pray in each area of the pyramid (family, church, school, city, country and world). Encourage your students to use the prayer card to remember the requests they present to the Lord. Each day, they can remember more easily if they see the requests written. The card can be placed next to their bed or on the table where they eat meals.
practice the memory verse
This is the last session of this unit. We hope the preadolescents have learned the complete memory passage. Encourage those who learned it by memory to recite it. You can have a competition to see how many girls and boys learned it correctly. Since this is the last session of this unit, prepare simple prizes to the extent possible for the students who learned the memory verse. If you wish, have a small party for the students who learned all of God’s armor and its meaning.
wrap-up
Pray
Pray for the students. Give thanks for those who helped with the assembly of the mural. Thank God for his kindness and for everything he taught from this unit. You can have moments of thanks to the Lord. End with a special prayer for your students and ask them to pray for you.
Encourage
Encourage the students to pray for their friends and family at home. Remind them that you will also be praying for them.
Invite
Give them the completed work to be taken home. Invite everyone to the upcoming session to begin a new unit. Tell them this is a good time for new members to join the group.
* Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™