How Jesus Taught Us to Pray: The Lord's Prayer for Kids

Hey, carpool crew, whether you're riding to school, grabbing some breakfast, or just chilling at home. I'm Pastor Justin, and I'm so glad you're here today. Today's question is a big one. It's something Jesus' closest friends asked him, something people still ask today: Lord, teach us to pray. This is from Luke chapter 11, verse one. So here's what's happening. Jesus's disciples saw him do incredible things: heal people who couldn't walk, calm storms, feed thousands with just five loaves of bread and two fish from a boy's lunch. But they noticed something else too. Jesus prayed a lot. In the morning, at night, before big choices, even when he celebrated, he prayed. So finally one of them asked, Lord, teach us how to pray. Not teach us how to preach, not teach us how to do miracles. And yes, we've got some great miracle episodes coming up in June, I can't wait. But they asked him how to pray because prayer was Jesus' power source. Here's the one thing I want you to remember. Jesus loves when we pray, and he's ready to teach us how. In Matthew chapter six, starting with verse nine to 13, he shows us how to pray. Here's what it says. Therefore, you should pray like this: Our Father in heaven, your name be honored as holy. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we also forgive our debtors. And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Now, that might be your first time hearing the Lord's Prayer, so I wanna break it down a little bit, piece by piece. It begins with our Father in heaven. We start our prayers this way because God loves you like a perfect dad, so we wanna honor him. Your name be honored as holy. God's name is special and should be respected. Your kingdom come, your will be done. We want God's goodness and love to grow everywhere, just like in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. This means we can ask God to give us what we need each and every day. Forgive us our debts. Well, we mess up, and God forgives us when we ask. As we also forgive our debtors. We forgive others just like God forgives us. And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. We ask for God's help to make wise choices and stay away from what's wrong. Let me tell you about my daughter. She is in first grade, and she started praying on her own at bedtime. At first, she didn't know what to say. Sometimes she just whispered, hi God. Sometimes she asked for help with spelling tests, and one night she thanked God for the color pink and also prayed for an orange kitten. And guess what? Over time, she realized that prayer isn't about perfect words. It's about talking to God like a friend. Now my daughter even prays for her friends when they're sad or nervous, quietly from her heart. That's what Jesus wants for all of us: simple, honest prayers. So you don't need fancy words. You don't need to be perfect. You just need to talk to Jesus. Remember, no matter where you are or how you're listening, God loves you. Let's wrap up today with our short Friday prayer. God, thank you for this week. Help us finish strong today and bless our week with joy and rest. Amen. Parents, try praying the Lord's Prayer together as a family tonight at bedtime. It's a simple way to do what Jesus taught and a powerful way to grow closer together. Before you go, answer this question: what's one thing I want to pray about today? I'll see you tomorrow on carpooling with Jesus.