Preteen Bible Lesson: We Pray for Each Other

Use this lesson to help kids explore how we communicate with God through prayer.

Prayer is a pretty abstract concept. But for preteens, who are moving from concrete thinking to abstract thinking, prayer is a great topic to dive into. We can help kids realize that prayer is a way to talk with God and spend time with him. When we pray, not only does God listen, but he also shows up in powerful ways.

Use this lesson to help kids learn that God wants us to pray with and for each other.

Scripture: James 5:13-18; Matthew 18:19-20; Psalm 65:1-5

Communication Code

Supplies:

• copies of the “Morse Code” handout (1 per person)

Welcome kids, and have them form a circle. Spend time connecting with the kids in your group by having them share a time they saw God show up during their week.

Say: We communicate with people in lots of different ways. What are some ways we talk with people who live far away? Allow kids to share their ideas with the group.

Say: Before there was video chat, texting, email, or even telephones, people used something called Morse code to communicate. Does anyone know what Morse code is?

Allow kids to share. Give each person a copy of the “Morse Code” handout, pointing out the system of dots and dashes. If you have kids who know how Morse code works, allow them to explain it to the rest of the kids. If not, explain to kids that Morse code is a system of long and short sounds that represent letters. Spend a couple of minutes having kids clap and snap out some of the letters one at a time, using snaps for dots and claps for dashes.

Message Received

Say: Let’s see how well we can send and receive messages in Morse code. We’re going to clap and snap out some words in Morse code one letter at a time. Let’s try to figure out what words we’re trying to send to each other.

Starting with the preteen to your left, have him or her think of a short word to clap out for the rest of the group to guess. Continue around the rest of the circle. When it comes back to you, finish by clapping out the word pray for kids to guess.

Say: We had fun communicating with one another! We really had to listen well.

Ask:

• What surprised you about talking to others in Morse code?
• In what ways do you think using Morse code is like or unlike talking to God?

If you want to lead the Bible Discovery section of this lesson, you can find it here. Otherwise, move on to the Prayer Wall.

Prayer Wall

Supplies:

• pens
• pads of sticky notes
• paper and marker (optional)

Before the lesson: Gather enough pens for everyone to have one and a few pads of sticky notes. Have a blank wall or bulletin board area prepared where kids can place their sticky-note prayers, or make a “Prayer Wall” sign and post it near where the prayers will be placed.

Say: In Jesus’ day, there was a huge temple, or church, where people from all over came to worship God. In the year 70 AD, the temple was destroyed. Part of one of the walls that surrounded that temple survived and still exists today. Some people call it the Wailing Wall. Just like in Jesus’ time, people from far and wide come to see this ancient wall. One of the things people do at the Wailing Wall is write prayers on paper and put those prayers in cracks that are in the wall. We’re going to make our own prayer wall today.

Hand out pens, and make sure every preteen has several sticky notes. Let kids know that they’ll spend a few minutes praying for each other as well as for other friends and loved ones. Encourage kids to write their prayers on sticky notes and then place those notes on the area you’ve designated for the “Prayer Wall.”

After 10 minutes, collect the pens and sticky notes. Close your time together in prayer.

Pray With God

Pray: Dear God, sometimes we can feel you so close to us and sometimes it feels like you’re far away. We thank you, God, that no matter what’s going on in our lives we can talk to you and you hear us. God, thank you for the friends and family you’ve given us. We ask that you’d hear our prayers for them. In Jesus’ name, amen.

This Bible lesson comes from 13 Most Important Bible Lessons for Kids About Loving Each Other. This book is packed with 13 Bible lessons that enable preteens to experience, grasp, and embrace the fundamentals of their faith. Check out the full 13 Most Important Bible Lessons Set here. And for even more Bible lessons, check out these posts!