Saints LightHow Did Jesus Teach Us to Pray?
Jesus taught us the Our Father so we can talk to God as our loving Father and ask Him for everything we need.
Jesus prayed all the time. His friends noticed, and one day they asked Him: Lord, teach us to pray. Jesus answered by giving them the Our Father, which is also called the Lord's Prayer (CCC 2759, 2765).
Prayer is talking and listening to God. You can pray anywhere: in bed, in the car, at Mass, or silently in your heart during a test. God always hears you (CCC 2559). The Our Father is extra special because Jesus Himself gave us the words.
The prayer begins with Our Father. Jesus lets us call God what He calls Him: Father! And we say our, not my, because we are one big family praying together (CCC 2786, 2792).
Then we pray that God's name will be kept holy, that His kingdom will come, and that His will be done on earth as in heaven. That means we want what God wants. After that we ask for what we need: our daily bread, forgiveness for our sins, and help when we are tempted to do wrong. Notice the brave part: we ask God to forgive us as we forgive others. Jesus wants forgiveness to keep flowing.
Jesus does not want us to rush through the words like a robot (CCC 2766). Try praying the Our Father slowly, thinking about each line. You are talking to your Father, who loves you.
Key points
- Prayer is talking and listening to God.
- Jesus gave us the Our Father.
- We forgive others as God forgives us.
The Word of God
Lord, teach us to pray
Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. Let your Kingdom come. Let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Catechism paragraphs for this lesson
- CCC 2559
- CCC 2759
- CCC 2765-2766
- CCC 2786
- CCC 2792
CCC means the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Saints Light teaches it in its own words and never quotes it. Look up any paragraph in a printed copy or at vatican.va. See every lesson by paragraph in the Catechism index.
From the tradition
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Live it this week
Pray the Our Father slowly with your family each night this week. Pick one line each night and talk about what it means.
Check yourself: three questions
1. What is prayer?
- Saying magic words
- Talking and listening to God
- Something only priests do
- Something we can only do in church
Show the answer
Talking and listening to God. Prayer is talking and listening to God, and we can do it anywhere.
2. Why does the prayer say "Our" and not "My"?
- Because it sounds nicer
- Because it is shorter
- Because only grown-ups can pray it
- Because we are all one family of God
Show the answer
Because we are all one family of God. We pray as brothers and sisters, one family with one Father.
3. What do we promise when we pray "forgive us as we forgive"?
- To never make mistakes
- To pray every hour
- To forgive other people too
- To tell everyone our sins
Show the answer
To forgive other people too. Jesus asks us to forgive others, the way God forgives us.
For catechists: a one hour class plan
Goal. The children will know that prayer is talking and listening to God, will understand the lines of the Our Father, and will pray it slowly and from the heart.
Opener. Ask: "How do you talk to your best friend? Do you only ever ask for things?" Then: "Prayer is talking with God, and Jesus showed us how."
Discussion questions
- Where can you pray? [Anywhere: bed, car, school, church. God always hears.]
- What does hallowed be thy name mean? [May God's name be treated as holy. We show this by how we speak about Him.]
- What is our daily bread? [Everything we need each day: food, family, and the Eucharist too.]
- Why is forgiving others part of the prayer? [God forgives us so much, and He wants us to pass it on. It can be hard; we can ask for help.]
Activity. Our Father prayer chain: give each small group paper strips, one for each line of the traditional Our Father. Children write a line on each strip and draw a small picture of what it means (bread, a crown for the kingdom, two people hugging for forgiveness). Link the strips into a chain in order, then pray it together, with a different child reading each link.
Closing prayer. Pray the Our Father together slowly, holding hands in a circle if the group is comfortable. Then add: Jesus, thank You for teaching us to talk to our Father. Help us pray every day. Amen.
Timing. Welcome and Sign of the Cross 5 min, best friend opener 5 min, read the lesson aloud 10 min, discussion 10 min, prayer chain 15 min, memory verse 5 min, quiz together 5 min, closing prayer 5 min.
Related lessons
- What Is Prayer, and Why Does It Feel So Hard? (Learning to Pray)
- The Our Father, Petition by Petition (Learning to Pray)
Keep your place in the app
Jesus Loves Me: A Catechism for Children is free in the Saints Light app too, where you can mark each lesson done, take it as a guided class and keep notes.
Every course is open free for your first 14 days. After that, one payment of $14.99 unlocks every course. There is no subscription.