Single lesson
Psalm 143: I Stretch Out My Hands to You
Psalms 143:1–12
Psalm 143 is a prayer to Yahweh from someone under pressure. In this lesson, children will follow the prayer in order, notice its strong pictures, and see how the speaker moves from trouble to trust and urgent asking.
Before you teach
These verses are a psalm addressed directly to Yahweh. The speaker asks to be heard, says no living person is righteous before God, describes an enemy and inner distress, remembers God’s works, reaches out to God, and asks for guidance, rescue and renewed life.
Students will be able to identify the speaker, name two images in the psalm, and explain how the prayer moves from distress to trust and requests for help.
Welcome: Listening for prayer words
4 minTell the group that Psalm 143 is a prayer spoken to Yahweh. Ask children to listen for who is speaking, what trouble is described, and what is being asked for. Explain briefly that psalms are poems and prayers, so they use pictures such as dark places, thirsty land and lifted hands.
Psalms 143:1, Psalms 143:3, Psalms 143:6
Read and explain: Trouble and honesty before God
7 minRead verses 1 to 4 aloud. Point out that the speaker asks God to hear and then says that no one living is righteous before God. The prayer describes an enemy, dark places, an overwhelmed spirit and a desolate heart. Help children hear the honesty of this prayer in real distress.
Psalms 143:1, Psalms 143:2, Psalms 143:3, Psalms 143:4
Discuss: Remembering, reaching out, and urgent asking
6 minRead verses 5 to 8. Show the order of the prayer. The speaker remembers God’s past works, spreads out his hands, and says his soul thirsts for God like parched land. Then he urgently asks for an answer, asks God not to hide his face, and says, ‘I trust in you’.
Psalms 143:5, Psalms 143:6, Psalms 143:7, Psalms 143:8
Make and respond: Illustrated prayer card
8 minChildren make a simple card with one image or line from the psalm, such as open hands, parched land, ‘the morning’, or a way to walk. Inside, they write one short prayer using words from the psalm, asking God to hear, teach, lead, deliver or revive.
Psalms 143:6, Psalms 143:8, Psalms 143:10, Psalms 143:11
Closing: Guidance, rescue and belonging to God
5 minRead verses 9 to 12. Notice the requests: deliver me, hide me, teach me to do your will, lead me, revive me, and bring me out of trouble. The prayer ends with the words ‘for I am your servant’. Review the speaker, the images, and the movement of the psalm together.
Psalms 143:9, Psalms 143:10, Psalms 143:11, Psalms 143:12
Questions to explore
What words show that this psalm is spoken directly to Yahweh as prayer?
Look for direct requests such as ‘Hear my prayer’, ‘Hurry to answer me’, and ‘Teach me to do your will’.
Psalms 143:1, Psalms 143:7, Psalms 143:10
Which pictures in the psalm help you understand the speaker’s need and trust?
Notice the ‘dark places’, ‘parched land’, spread-out hands, ‘the morning’, and ‘the way in which I should walk’.
Psalms 143:3, Psalms 143:6, Psalms 143:8
How does the prayer change as it goes on?
Follow the order from asking to be heard, to describing trouble, to remembering God’s works, to urgent asking, trust, and requests for teaching, rescue and life.
Psalms 143:1, Psalms 143:3, Psalms 143:5, Psalms 143:7, Psalms 143:10
Make, think or respond
Illustrated Prayer or Image Card
What you’ll need
- paper or card
- pencils or markers
- crayons or coloured pencils
- a printed or handwritten copy of Psalms 143:1–12
Try it together
- Choose one image or line from the psalm, such as open hands, parched land, ‘the morning’, or a way to walk.
- Draw that image or write that line on the front of a folded card.
- Inside, write one short prayer using some words from the psalm, such as asking God to hear, teach, lead, deliver or revive.
- Share the card with a partner and explain which verse gave you your idea.
- If time allows, place the cards out and name the verse connected to each one.
This activity helps children notice how Psalm 143 uses pictures and requests to express need, trust, and a desire for God’s help.
Adapt for your group
- For younger children, offer two or three image choices from the psalm and let them complete a sentence starter such as ‘Hear my...’ or ‘Teach me...’.
- For older or more confident children, ask them to show the order of the psalm on the card by including one part that shows trouble and another that shows trust or asking, with verse numbers.
An optional closing prayer
‘Yahweh, please hear us, teach us your way, and lead us when we are troubled. Help us trust you and reach out to you. Amen.’
Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic
Psalms 143
1 Hear my prayer, Yahweh. Listen to my petitions. In your faithfulness and righteousness, relieve me.
2 Don’t enter into judgment with your servant, for in your sight no man living is righteous.
3 For the enemy pursues my soul. He has struck my life down to the ground. He has made me live in dark places, as those who have been long dead.
4 Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me. My heart within me is desolate.
5 I remember the days of old. I meditate on all your doings. I contemplate the work of your hands.
6 I spread out my hands to you. My soul thirsts for you, like a parched land. Selah.
7 Hurry to answer me, Yahweh. My spirit fails. Don’t hide your face from me, so that I don’t become like those who go down into the pit.
8 Cause me to hear your loving kindness in the morning, for I trust in you. Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, for I lift up my soul to you.
9 Deliver me, Yahweh, from my enemies. I flee to you to hide me.
10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness.
11 Revive me, Yahweh, for your name’s sake. In your righteousness, bring my soul out of trouble.
12 In your loving kindness, cut off my enemies, and destroy all those who afflict my soul, for I am your servant.
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.