Single lesson
The Lord's Prayer: Learning to Pray
Matthew 6:5–15; Luke 11:1–4; Luke 11:9–13
Jesus teaches that prayer is not for showing off or using empty words. In these verses, he gives his disciples a pattern for prayer and tells them to keep asking their heavenly Father.
Before you teach
In Matthew, Jesus warns against praying to be seen by others and says the Father knows what people need before they ask. He then says, “Pray like this”. In Luke, a disciple asks Jesus to teach them to pray, and Jesus teaches these words. Luke also records Jesus’ teaching about asking, seeking, knocking, and the Father giving the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.
Students will identify five parts in Jesus’ prayer pattern, holy name, kingdom and will, daily bread, forgiveness, and guidance, and explain one thing Jesus teaches about how to pray.
Welcome: Jesus teaches prayer
4 minAsk children what prayer is. Explain that in these verses Jesus teaches both how to pray and what to pray for. Point out that a disciple asks Jesus to teach them to pray. Tell the group to listen for what Jesus says about prayer, not for ways to impress other people.
Luke 11:1, Matthew 6:5
Read and explain: Not for show or empty words
7 minRead Matthew 6:5, Matthew 6:6, Matthew 6:7, and Matthew 6:8 aloud. Explain that Jesus warns against praying just to be seen by people. He also says not to use vain repetitions, meaning empty repeated words. Prayer is directed to the Father, and Jesus says the Father knows what his people need before they ask.
Matthew 6:5, Matthew 6:6, Matthew 6:7, Matthew 6:8
Discuss the prayer: What does Jesus tell us to pray?
8 minRead Matthew 6:9, Matthew 6:10, Matthew 6:11, Matthew 6:12, and Matthew 6:13 slowly. Then notice Luke 11:2, Luke 11:3, and Luke 11:4 as Luke’s presentation of Jesus’ teaching. Help children sort the lines into five parts: God’s holy name, God’s kingdom and will, daily bread, forgiveness, and guidance away from temptation and evil.
Matthew 6:9, Matthew 6:10, Matthew 6:11, Matthew 6:12, Matthew 6:13, Luke 11:2, Luke 11:3, Luke 11:4
Make and respond: Prayer wheel
7 minChildren make a simple wheel or circle chart with sections labelled: holy name, kingdom and will, daily bread, forgiveness, and guidance. As they assemble it, invite them to write one short prayer idea in each section using words that fit Jesus’ pattern. Keep examples general and text-based, without asking children to share private matters.
Matthew 6:9, Matthew 6:10, Matthew 6:11, Matthew 6:12, Matthew 6:13
Closing: Keep asking, and forgive others
4 minFinish by reading Luke 11:9, Luke 11:10, Luke 11:11, Luke 11:12, Luke 11:13, Matthew 6:14, and Matthew 6:15. Explain that Jesus tells his disciples to keep asking, seeking, and knocking, and that the heavenly Father gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask him. Also stress that Jesus connects prayer with forgiving others.
Luke 11:9, Luke 11:10, Luke 11:11, Luke 11:12, Luke 11:13, Matthew 6:14, Matthew 6:15
Questions to explore
According to Matthew 6:5 and Matthew 6:6, what is the difference between praying to be seen and praying to the Father?
Look for who notices the prayer in each verse: people in public, or the Father who sees in secret.
Matthew 6:5, Matthew 6:6
Which lines in Jesus’ prayer ask for daily needs and for help with sin and temptation?
Find the sentence about daily bread, then the lines about forgiveness and temptation in Matthew 6:11, Matthew 6:12, Matthew 6:13, Luke 11:3, and Luke 11:4.
Matthew 6:11, Matthew 6:12, Matthew 6:13, Luke 11:3, Luke 11:4
What does Luke 11:11, Luke 11:12, and Luke 11:13 teach about the Father when people ask him?
Notice the comparison with a human father, then state the specific gift named in Luke 11:13.
Luke 11:11, Luke 11:12, Luke 11:13
Make, think or respond
Lord’s Prayer Wheel
What you’ll need
- paper plates or plain cardboard circles
- pencils or textas
- scissors
- split pin or string
- ruler
Try it together
- Draw a circle and divide it into five sections: holy name, kingdom and will, daily bread, forgiveness, and guidance.
- Write one short phrase from the passage or a simple matching prayer in each section.
- Cut a second circle with a window if desired, and attach it with a split pin so one section shows at a time.
- Turn the wheel and use each section as a prompt to pray one sentence based on Jesus’ words.
The wheel helps children remember the prayer pattern Jesus teaches in Matthew 6:9, Matthew 6:10, Matthew 6:11, Matthew 6:12, Matthew 6:13, Luke 11:2, Luke 11:3, and Luke 11:4.
Adapt for your group
- For younger children, pre-draw the wheel sections and let them copy one key word into each part: holy, kingdom, bread, forgive, guide.
- For stronger readers, compare Matthew 6:9, Matthew 6:10, Matthew 6:11, Matthew 6:12, Matthew 6:13 with Luke 11:2, Luke 11:3, and Luke 11:4 and ask them to list the matching requests in both passages.
An optional closing prayer
You could pray: “Father in heaven, help us honour your name, ask for what we need, forgive others, and keep trusting you as we pray.”
Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic
Matthew 6
5 “When you pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Most certainly, I tell you, they have received their reward.
6 But you, when you pray, enter into your inner room, and having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
7 In praying, don’t use vain repetitions as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their much speaking.
8 Therefore don’t be like them, for your Father knows what things you need before you ask him.
9 Pray like this: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.
10 Let your Kingdom come. Let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.
13 Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.’
14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
15 But if you don’t forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Luke 11
1 When he finished praying in a certain place, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.”
2 He said to them, “When you pray, say, ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
3 Give us day by day our daily bread.
4 Forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’ ”
9 “I tell you, keep asking, and it will be given you. Keep seeking, and you will find. Keep knocking, and it will be opened to you.
10 For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened.
11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he won’t give him a snake instead of a fish, will he?
12 Or if he asks for an egg, he won’t give him a scorpion, will he?
13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.
Source passages
Something to make together
These activities connect with the passage. Choose one that suits your group and the time you have.
