5 “When you pray, do not be like those who only pretend to be holy. They love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners. They want to be seen by other people. What I’m about to tell you is true. They have received their complete reward. 6 When you pray, go into your room. Close the door and pray to your Father, who can’t be seen. Your Father will reward you, because he sees what you do secretly. 7 When you pray, do not keep talking on and on. That is what ungodly people do. They think they will be heard because they talk a lot. 8 Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need even before you ask him.

BIBLE STUDY

Prayer is talking with God. It’s a strange thing because we can’t see God listening to us. Jesus talked about two big mistakes people make when they pray. First, it’s wrong to show off to others when you pray. It’s better to pray alone in an empty closet than on a crowded street corner. Prayer shouldn’t be about showing off what a great person you are! Second, it’s wrong to babble on and on as we pray. People who worshiped false gods would say their god’s name and other special words over and over to make their god hear. But God is always ready to listen, so there’s no point in blabbing!

+ Who hears us when we pray in secret? (vs. 6)

+ When does God, our Father in heaven, know what we need? (vs. 8)

DAY 2

Matthew 7:7-11, NIrV

7 “Ask, and it will be given to you. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. 8 Everyone who asks will receive. The one who searches will find. The door will be opened to the one who knocks.

9 “Suppose your son asks for bread. Which of you will give him a stone? 10 Or suppose he asks for a fish. Which of you will give him a snake? 11 Even though you are evil, you know how to give good gifts to your children. How much more will your Father who is in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

BIBLE STUDY

To teach his disciples how to pray, Jesus gave them a special prayer. We call it “The Lord’s Prayer”. It begins with “our Father in heaven.” There are many names for God (like King or Creator), but Jesus told us to call him “Father.” What does a father do? He loves and take care of his kids. Some dads are better than others, but no one is even close to our Father in Heaven; he knows exactly what we need, even before we ask! Next, Jesus taught us to pray, “Hallowed be your name.” As we talk to God, we should praise God’s name, talking about how great he is and the great things he’s done!

+ What name did Jesus tell us to call God when we pray? (see Matt. 6:9)

+ What is our Father in Heaven better at doing than human dads? (see. Matt. 7:11)

DAY 3

Mark 1:14-15, NIrV

14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee. He preached the good news of God. 15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Turn away from your sins and believe the good news!”

BIBLE STUDY

The second thing Jesus taught us to ask for in the Lord’s Prayer is “Your kingdom come.” A kingdom is where a king is in charge of his people. When we pray, “Your kingdom come,” we’re asking that God would grow his kingdom. We’re praying, “May our neighbors believe the good news about Jesus and join your kingdom!” The third thing Jesus taught us to pray is for God’s “will” (what he wants to happen) to be done on earth as it’s done in heaven. When we pray this, we asking God to help us follow his commands down here on earth just like his angels obey his commands in heaven.

+ How well do you think angels do God’s will (obey him) in heaven?

+ What did Jesus tell people to do since God’s kingdom was near? (see Mark. 1:15)

DAY 4

Exodus 16:11-18, NIRV

11 The Lord said to Moses, 12 “I have heard the people of Israel talking about how unhappy they are. Tell them, ‘When the sun goes down, you will eat meat. In the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’ ”

13 That evening quail came and covered the camp. In the morning the ground around the camp was covered with dew. 14 When the dew was gone, thin flakes appeared on the desert floor. They looked like frost on the ground. 15 The people of Israel saw the flakes. They asked each other, “What’s that?” They didn’t know what it was.

Moses said to them, “It’s the bread the Lord has given you to eat. 16 Here is what the Lord has commanded. He has said, ‘Everyone should gather as much as they need. Take three pounds for each person who lives in your tent.’ ”

17 The people of Israel did as they were told. Some gathered a lot, and some gathered a little. 18 When they measured it out, the one who gathered a lot didn’t have too much. And the one who gathered a little had enough. Everyone gathered only what they needed.

BIBLE STUDY

“Give us our daily bread” is the fourth thing Jesus taught us to pray. To understand what “daily bread” is, we need to zoom all the way back to Exodus, the second book of the Bible. After God rescued his people from Egypt, they wandered in the wilderness. To feed them, God made miracle bread from heaven appear each day. This was their daily (everyday) bread. When we ask, “Give us our daily bread,” we’re not praying for God to send sandwiches from the sky! We’re asking, “Please take care of my day-by-day needs just like you took care of your people as they wandered in the wilderness.”

+ How long did God give his people bread in the wilderness? (see Exodus 16:35)

+ What are we asking God to do when we pray, “Give us our daily bread”?

DAY 5

1 John 1:8-10, NIRV

8 Suppose we claim we are without sin. Then we are fooling ourselves. The truth is not in us. 9 But God is faithful and fair. If we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins. He will forgive every wrong thing we have done. He will make us pure. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar. His word is not in us.

BIBLE STUDY

“Forgive our debts (or sins)” is the fifth thing Jesus taught us to pray. When we talk to God, Jesus wants us to confess (tell the truth about) our sins. But won’t that just make God mad? Nope! Because Jesus died to pay for our sins, every single one can be forgiven. When we confess our sins, God promises he’ll forgive us... every time! The sixth thing Jesus taught us to pray is to ask God to keep us safe from sin: both the sin inside us and the sin around us. Jesus wants us to ask for strength to make the right choice when we’re tempted to disobey God and for protection from the evil around us.

+ What does God promise to do if we confess our sins? (see 1 John 1:9)

+ If we pretend we haven’t sinned, what are we calling God? (see 1 John 1:10)

DAY 6

Luke 18:1-8, NIRV

1 Jesus told his disciples a story. He wanted to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said, “In a certain town there was a judge. He didn’t have any respect for God or care about what people thought. 3 A widow lived in that town. She came to the judge again and again. She kept begging him, ‘Make things right for me. Someone is treating me badly.’

4 “For some time the judge refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t have any respect for God. I don’t care about what people think. 5 But this widow keeps bothering me. So I will see that things are made right for her. If I don’t, she will someday come and attack me!’ ”

6 The Lord said, “Listen to what the unfair judge says. 7 God’s chosen people cry out to him day and night. Won’t he make things right for them? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, God will see that things are made right for them. He will make sure it happens quickly. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find people on earth who have faith?”

BIBLE STUDY

To teach his disciples to never give up on their prayers, Jesus told them a parable, a lesson-teaching story. A woman had been treated terribly by her enemy. She begged a judge to do something, but the evil man refused to lift a finger to help! The woman didn’t quit, though. Over and over, she endlessly bugged the judge to come to her rescue. Finally, the evil judge did what she asked just so she’d leave him alone! Jesus said, “If an evil judge will do the right thing if you keep asking, surely God, your good Father in heaven, will do what’s right if we keep asking!” We should never give up praying!

+ Why did Jesus tell this parable? (vs. 1)

+ Should we ever stop praying? Why or why not?

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