What should I say to god when I pray?
Answer: When we pray, it’s easy to say the same words over and over. Prayer can become a habit that we don’t think about. Instead, we should think about what we are saying when we pray, and we should be honest with God.
Also, we shouldn’t pray to show off, but we should say to God what we want to tell him. The Lord’s Prayer can be a guide for what to talk to God about. Prayers can include thanking God for who he is and for what he has done.
In prayer we can confess our sins, telling God that we are sorry for the bad things we have done. We can make requests, too, asking God to help others and to give us strength and guidance. We can talk to God about anything on our mind.
Key verses: [Jesus is speaking] “Pray like this: ‘Our Father in Heaven, we honor your holy name. We ask that your kingdom will come now. May your will be done here on earth, just as it is in Heaven. Give us our food again today, as usual.
And forgive us our sins, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us. Don’t bring us into temptation. But keep us safe from the Evil One. Amen. (Matthew 6:9-13)
Related verses: Luke 11:1-13; Philippians 4:6; 1 Thessalonians 5:17; 1 Timothy 2:8; James 5:16
Note to parents: Children can get caught into a routine prayer. Look for ways to vary the family prayers in which your children participate.
For example, you could suggest that each member of the family pray about what happened during the day, or you could compile a family prayer list and use it to guide your family prayer times.
Why do you get mad at me if you have Jesus in your heart?
Answer: Not all anger is wrong. We should be angry with the bad things in the world, and we should try to make them right. When children disobey their parents and do other things that are wrong, sometimes their parents get angry.
Good parents want their children to do what is right, and so they try to teach children right from wrong. Sometimes, of course, parents get angry at children for the wrong reasons. Maybe the parents are grouchy because they’ve had a bad day.
Or maybe they misunderstood what their child did. Parents are human too; they can make mistakes. Even Christian parents who have God living in them and guiding them can do what is wrong at times.
That happens when they don’t do what God wants them to do. No matter how your parents act, you should love them and pray for them.
Key verse: If you are angry, don’t sin by staying angry. Don’t let the sun go down with you still angry. Get over it quickly. (Ephesians 4:26)
Related Verses: Ecclesiastes 3:7-8; Romans 7:14; Colossians 3:5-8