Prayer is praising and thanking God.
We start our unit on prayer with the story of David in 1 Chronicles 29:10-14 and 2 Samuel 7:18-22. David loved God and had a close relationship with Him. This was because David prayed all the time. We take David’s habit of prayer as our model. Our prayer should usually start by praising and thanking God. Students will learn a variety of names for God that supports all He does for us. They will also learn the difference in praising vs. thanking God. David would praise God by telling him how awesome He is and why he loves Him. He would then thank God for answering his prayers, always being with him, and providing blessings around him.

 Prayer is asking God to help myself and others. 
 In our second week, we focus on a prayer model of Jesus in John 17:4 6-24. After Jesus told his disciples that He has overcome the world, He looked up to the sky and prayed. He asked God to glorify Him, so he could glorify God. Then he prayed for His disciples and all the people in the world. He prayed for their protection and joy. He then prayed that He would be in the hearts of everyone who believed in Him. Most people find it easy to pray for family and friends, and we want to extend that to teachers and leaders, people in authority, people who are suffering, and people who don’t know Jesus. 

 Prayer is talking and listening to God.
This week teaches us to listen. The story of Eli and Samuel bring this point in 1 Samuel 3. When God called Samuel, he needed to learn to listen. When we pray, we need to praise and thank God, pray for others, and then listen to what God has to say. It’s a conversation, not a demand on our part. With understanding that God can talk to us or reveal His guidance in a variety of ways: biblical advice, a RBfK lesson, Godly people, etc.

Prayer is talking to God when times are tough.
Our final week looks at the story of Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20. This story shows us that when we are feeling sad, scared, or stressed that we can call out to God. King Jehoshaphat was facing a battle with the Moabites and the Ammonites. He called out to God. The Spirit of God came upon his men as God said the battle was not theirs, but His. They worshipped and praised God. We need to be able to hand our tough times to God as King Jehoshaphat did.

The prayer book ties into this lesson with a variety of prayers for tough times for kids to pray: being alone, worried, different, embarrassed, hurt, sorry, and more.