Lesson 9: Matthew 6-7

February 25- March 3
Matthew 6-7
"He Taught Them as One Having Authority"
Materials: Scriptures, a cell phone, 5 envelopes stuffed with the who, what, when & where, why, and how responses (see below), blindfold, any pictures you may need. 

Opening Song: "A Child's Prayer" (Children's Songbook, 12)
Opening Prayer: 
Scripture: 2 Nephi 32:9 "But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul."

Attention Activity: 
Hold up your cell phone and ask the following questions. What is this? What are some things I can do with this phone? What is the main reason I have a phone? Who can I call? How can I call them? Could I call Heavenly Father on the phone?

Heavenly Father doesn't have a phone, and he doesn't need one. We can talk to him through our prayers.

Lesson: 
Last week, we talked about how Christ gave a special talk we call, The Sermon on the Mount. In that sermon, Jesus taught us how to pray. He said there are things that we should always do when we pray and things that we should avoid. 

View "I Have Prayed for Thee" by Del Parson

Have prepared 5 envelopes addressed "Who," "What," "When & Where," "Why," and "How." In each envelope, put the corresponding response from below. Have each family member select an envelope. Take turns reading the contents of each envelope. If you have older children, you could read the corresponding scriptures that go along with each envelope.

Who-
Who should pray? Everyone should pray. Each of us should pray on our own with Heavenly Father. We can also pray as a group. Jesus also taught that we should pray in our families (3 Nephi 18:21)

What-
What is prayer? "Prayer is a sincere, heartfelt talk with our Heavenly Father. We should pray to God and to no one else. Prayer is one of the greatest blessings we have while we are here on earth. Through prayer we can communicate with our Heavenly Father and seek His guidance daily." (Gospel Principles Manual, ch. 8). 

When & Where- 
When and where should we pray? We should never pray for worldly attention, but we should pray in private (Matt. 6:5-6). We should also pray before and after church meetings. In the scriptures it says we should "pray always"  What does that mean? Sometimes it's hard to pray because we are angry or sad but this is when we need prayer the most. (See 2 Nephi 32:8-9) We have been instructed that although we can always keep Heavenly Father in our thoughts at all times, we should say an personal prayer at least every morning and every night. We also know from Christ's example that we should give Heavenly Father thanks and ask for a blessing to be on the food we eat. 

How-
How should we pray? During the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus prayed so we can have an example. Read Matt 6: 9-13. We begin by addressing Heavenly Father. Then, we thank him for our blessings. We then can ask him for guidance and blessings. When we are done, we close the prayer "In the name of Jesus Christ, amen." We should always be sincere and heartfelt in our prayers (See Moroni 10:4; James 1:6) This means we should avoid using the same phrases over and over. Read Matt 6:7. 

Why-
Why should we pray? We have been commanded to pray from the very beginning of our time on Earth (Moses 5:8) We need to pray for strength to resist temptation. (D&C 10:5) We also need to pray in order to repent and ask forgiveness. (Alma 38:14) We should pray for guidance and answers to questions. (Alma 37:37) We should also pray to thank Heavenly Father for all our blessings. (1 Thes 5:18) 

Review with your family how we are expected to pray by reading or singing the second verse to "I Pray In Faith" (Children's Songbook, 14) 

I begin by saying "Dear Heavenly Father."
I thank Him for blessings He sends;
Then, humbly I ask Him for things that I need, 
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Activity: 
Set up a simple obstacle course with pillows, chairs, blankets, etc. Blindfold one family member and ask them to go through the obstacle course. Then, have another family member act as a guide. (They could take them by the hand and lead them or just give verbal cues.) Explain how this is similar to prayer. We can try to do things on our own, but it's much better to have our Heavenly Father (who sees and knows everything) give us clear directions. 

Give a brief testimony of how prayer has blessed your life. You could share a story of how prayer has helped you. 

Closing Song: "I Pray in Faith" Both Verses (Children's Songbook, 14) 
Closing Prayer: 

Refreshment: Prayer Pretzels
Buy or dip your own chocolate-covered pretzels. Read the following poem to go with your treat