The Power of Prayer and Meditation LO: To consider the importance of prayer for Christians and how it can affect their daily lives. 03 August 2015

Why do people pray?

What do Christians pray to God about? Reminder from Worship Lesson 1.Adoration – to show love, praise and respect. 2.Confession - To ask for God’s forgiveness. 3.Thanksgiving - To thank God for all that they have.

4.Supplication - To ask God for help. 5.Praise – To tell God how wonderful He is. 6.Intercession - To ask God to help others who are suffering.

Prayer is another way in which Christians believe they can communicate with God. Just as people need to talk with each other to build relationships, Christians believe that prayer helps them to develop their relationship with God.

Christians pray in church congregations and will say set responses such as ‘Lord hear our prayer’. Other times, they may simply listen to prayers and say amen at the end. Christians will also have the opportunity for silent prayer

Jesus taught his followers to pray by giving them ‘The Lord’s Prayer’ which includes adoration, thanksgiving, intercession (others) and supplication. ORRY (forgiveness) HANKS (and adoration) THERS (intercession) LEASE (supplication) Copy out the acrostic above

1.Using your STOP acrostic as headings, write out the parts of the Lord’s Prayer that fit that heading. 2.In pairs, come up with a list of benefits and problems with set prayer in two columns. 3.On your own, explain why it might be helpful for a Christian to have set prayers. Task 1

Prayer and Meditation When Christians pray alone they usually use the main four areas of prayer (STOP). Christians might be aware of how God is working in their own lives and offer praise. They may need guidance to make the right decision, ex. a career change. As Christians regularly pray and meditate on God’s word, their faith is deepened and helps to develop a personal relationship with God. Think of a time when you needed help. Who helped you and how did they help? Was it the type of help you needed? How did it make you feel to be helped in this way?

When Christians pray to God, they believe that he hears and responds to their prayers. They look to the Bible for powerful examples such as the raising of Lazarus from the dead. ‘The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayers.’ (1 Peter 3:12) What does this quote mean for Christians?

Strength of Prayer Today??? Many Christians today can give examples of how prayer has powerfully affected situations or people they have prayed for Prayer is a movement that started in September 1999 when a group of young people decided to pray non- stop for a month. They didn’t stop until Christmas! This got others interested from different countries, denominations and age groups. Why do you think someone might want to start a non-stop prayer session? arningzone/clips/the- multistorey- miracle/2878.html

Exam Focus Part D Question – (6marks) Explain how praying every day might help a Christian in their daily lives. Reasons Christians pray Relate those reasons to how they could help in daily life ex. Forgiveness – parable of prodigal son (Luke15:11- 32)

Unanswered Prayers Many people feel that God is present when they pray. Some people are not sure and question whether God is there. People may reject God if their prayers are continually not answered.