Copycat

You know that game that kids play where one copies exactly what the other person says and does until it starts to drive that person crazy? Maybe you played that when you were little. I know I did. It usually ends with, "Stop copying me!", "Stop copying me!", then "I'm gonna tell mom!", (Silence). Well, that's how it ended in our family at least!

Since we've been talking about prayer in Kids Church, this past Sunday's lesson was entitled "Copycat". Because, (get this) Jesus LIKES it when we copy him! He never gets annoyed or frustrated with us. In fact, He wants us to be like Him. He even gave us an example prayer to follow, commonly known as "The Lord's Prayer".

In Matthew 6, Jesus instructs the people and his disciples on how to pray. The kids learned on Sunday that Jesus gave two "don't's" and two "do's". Here's what Jesus said, "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen.  Then your Father,  who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. This then, is how you should pray: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.'"


We talked about the "don't's" and "do's", then talked about how we can use The Lord's Prayer as our own guide when we pray. Basically, there are four steps: praise, petition, repentance, and reliance. First, we praise God for who He is and thank Him for what He has done. Second, we ask Him for things. (The awesome thing is, Jesus listens and likes it when we ask Him for things!) Third, we ask forgiveness. Fourth, we realize that we can't do anything on our own and tell the Lord that we will rely on Him for everything that we need. Sounds easy, right? It is!

So this week, use The Lord's Prayer as the guide for your family when you pray. There are cards at church that I've printed out that you are welcome to grab. It has The Lord's Prayer on it, with notes on the four steps.

Hope you all have an awesome and blessed week!