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My faith in Jesus Christ is
strengthened when I pray
by Melanie Day
When you need to know an answer to a
question, whom do you ask? When you are hurt, who can help you? When you are
sad, who can comfort you? In the scriptures, we read of men, women, and children
who prayed to Heavenly Father when they had questions or needed help.
OBJECT LESSON from
Deseret Book Website :
- Materials Needed:
An electric blow-dryer, an electric
clock, an electric radio or CD player, and access to an electrical outlet.
- Application:
Discuss what each
item is used for and demonstrate how they work. Point out that each is
carefully designed to fulfill a certain purpose. However, the ability to do
that is dependent on one important thing: power. Without electrical power
the items would be of little worth. Compare this to our lives and the power
that prayer can give us to serve Heavenly Father.
(Beth Lefgren
and Jennifer Jackson,
Building
Blocks for Better Lessons,
[Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1998], p. 49.)
LESSON: Ask the children,
“Why would someone pray for a long time?”
Tell them you need some help to teach about one of the longest prayers told
about in the scriptures. Call on them to pull out of a large bag the
following items, which you have collected in advance: a bow and arrow and a
name sign—ENOS—to wear; a wordstrip—Words of my father; a picture of a large
yellow sun; a black or dark blue paper with a moon and stars; a wordstrip—Sins
are forgiven; a picture of Christ; a name sign—NEPHITE—to wear; a name sign—LAMANITE;
a picture or model of the gold plates, or a Book of Mormon.
Tell the helpers to stand at the side. Explain to the Primary that the
helpers will form a tableau, or silent picture, as you read the story from
the scriptures. Direct the helpers to step “on stage” as they hear their
part read. Read
Enos
1:1–19. The final “scene” should
show that Enos was forgiven of his sins because of his faith in Christ, that
he in turn prayed for both Nephites and Lamanites, and that the records were
preserved. To finish the chapter, have the older children read along with
you (summarize it for the younger children).
STORY: If you'd rather not do the tableau, you could tell the story of Enos
instead. (You
can use these flannel board figures to tell the story.
Enlarge them if needed.) Enos was the son of Jacob and the grandson of
Lehi. He was righteous and knew the importance of prayer. One day he went into
the forest to hunt. He began thinking about the teachings of his father, Jacob.
He knelt to pray and prayed all day and into the night. He asked Heavenly Father
to forgive him of his sins. While praying, the voice of the Lord came into his
mind and told him that his sins were forgiven.
Enos continued to pray and asked
that the records of his people would be preserved so that someday the
Lamanites could read them and understand the gospel. Because Enos had great
faith, God promised him that the records would be safe. The answer to this
prayer gave Enos a feeling of peace.
This experience happened between
four and five hundred years before the birth of Christ. Today, just as in
Enos’ day, if we seek for forgiveness and guidance through prayer, having
faith, Heavenly Father will answer our prayers.
MUSIC: Have the pianist play a few notes of a song about prayer.
Play each note slowly, adding one more as needed. See how few of notes
are needed to guess the song. Once guessed; then sing it. You
can use this part of the activity at the end of your sharing time and use it
to fill the desired amount of time after your sharing time is over.
Here are few suggestions of songs relating to prayer:
ACTIVITY:
Print
out the following handout (or make something
similar). This handout is divided it into four equal sections...“Dear
Heavenly Father” in the upper left quadrant, “I thank thee …” at the top of
the upper right quadrant, “Please bless …” at the top of the lower left
quadrant, and “In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.” in the lower right
quadrant. Have them use their fingers to trace the right steps to
prayer (use this paper to teach them the order of prayer). You can
then have them cut out each section and put them in the right order, staple
it and make a booklet. Or you could ask them to draw pictures of
things they are thankful for and what they ask the Lord’s blessings for in
the appropriate places.
SUMMARY: Bear your
witness that Enos' prayer was answered. The records were preserved and
revealed centuries later. Let them know that their faith in Jesus
Christ is strengthened, just like Enos, as we pray.
OTHER OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES:
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Prayer Paper Dolls
SOURCES:
“Sharing Time: Prayer,” Friend, Sept. 1998, 12
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