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Five Fingers of Prayer
Jesus gave us a beautiful gift when he
gave the disciples their first lesson on prayer. Through the Lord’s Prayer He has given us the
perfect model containing the 5 Fingers of Prayer. It is
with these fingers that we can teach our children to go from
‘palm to palm’ to’ heart to heart’ with God.
We can use the model prayer that Jesus gave us to develop our own
words of prayer. Here are the 5 Fingers of Prayer and how
they work to create the perfect prayer model.
- Addressing our Father in
Heaven
"Our Father which art in heaven…"
Biblically we are shown how Jesus always
began his prayers by addressing his Father. In Matthew 6:9, he
uses "Our Father in heaven." In his great intercessory
prayer in John 17:1, and in his prayers on the cross in Luke 23:34,46,
Jesus addresses God as "Father." Mark 4:36 tells us
Jesus addressed God as "Abba, Father," and in both Mark
15:34 and Matthew 27:46, Jesus used "My God, my God" to
call upon his heavenly Father. In this first finger of prayer,
Jesus teaches us to call upon the name of the Lord.
- Offering Praise
to God
"Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom
come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven."
Jesus always gave the praise, honor, and
glory to God, and it is important to teach our children to praise
his holy name in their prayer time. It is a way to show our
humility, thankfulness, and love
- Laying needs
before the Father
"Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us
not into temptation, but deliver us from evil … "
This is the heart of open prayer where
healing, intercession, needs, and our need for forgiveness all
come together in a powerful plea to the Father.
- Praise and
Glory
"For thine is the kingdom, and the
power, and the glory, forever"
This is a wondeful time to thank God for
answered prayers and for the promises he has made and will keep
in his faithfulness. This is the part where children can really
say: "I love you, God"
- Closing in
his name
"I tell you the
truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name"
{John 16:23, NIV}
Jesus teaches us that we
are to ask in his name and our heavenly Father will hear and
answer. We close our prayers in the name of Jesus, amen!
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