Table of Contents
Reasons why Jesus prayed
Prayer is a means of talking to our heavenly father. Jesus, while he was physically here on earth, did pray to his father. Why did Jesus pray? He prayed to receive power, strength and grace to fulfill his mission, or task, on earth. Jesus always prayed to be a role model to his disciples. He also prayed to honour God, his father.
We as the followers of Jesus must do the same. Contents of Jesus’ prayer Jesus taught us how to pray when he gave us ‘The Lord’s Prayer’. So, when we pray we should first give thanks to God. We thank God for giving us a new a day, a new life. We thank him for providing food, clothes, money for our parents.
After thanks, we should confess our sins. We must forgive those who have offended us. This is to allow God to forgive us our own sins.
We should tell God what we need. For instance,
1 We can tell God to give us wisdom, understanding so as to pass our examinations.
2 We can also pray to the Lord to let the government show concern for the citizens of this country.
3 Our prayer could be to ask the Lord to grant mummy and daddy sound health.
4 We must thank the Lord for hearing our prayers.
5 All prayers must be in the name of Jesus.
Instances when Jesus prayed
Jesus was always praying. Before he chose the twelve apostles, he went to pray. He prayed all night. When Mary and Martha sent for Jesus on the death of their brother, Lazarus, Jesus went to the grave, thanked God and prayed for the dead Lazarus to rise up. The prayer was answered. Lazarus came back to life. Lazarus coming out of the grave
At the end of Jesus’ life here on earth, when he faced death, he prayed seriously at the Garden of Gethsemane.
Jesus was always prayerful. We should always follow his examples of prayer.
Importance of prayer
It is important to talk to our heavenly father. When we do this, we shall have a right relationship with God. When we pray and ask God for our needs such as sound health, protection, wisdom and so on, God will answer us and we will become happy.
Prayer is also important because it builds our confidence in God. When we are confident in God, we trust him more
Moral lessons
1 We must always be prayerful.
2 When we ask God for anything, we should have faith that he will answer us.
3 We should give thanks to God always and when our needs are me Remember
Jesus prayed all night. We should know how to build a good relationship with God. We must be prayerful.
Exercise
1 Mention two reasons why we should pray.
2 List out five contents in ‘The Lord’s Prayer’.
Fill in the gaps below with the correct answers.
3 When we pray we should have______________ in God.
4 When we pray we must forgive our offenders so that God can ____________
5 The first thing to do when we pray is to give ______________ to God.
Choose the correct answers to the questions below.
6 At the end of his life here on earth, Jesus prayed at the Garden of____________
- Gethsemane. B. Jordan. C. Bethsaida. D. mountain.
7 Lazarus ______________ when Jesus prayed at his grave.
- resurrected. B. died again. C. was angry. D. was not happy.
8 We should always ask God for
- our needs. B. little things. C. nothing. D. special things only
Guide to Bible passages
Matthew 6; 21:22; Luke 6:12; 21:22
See also