
HOW TO PRAY
This lesson will be on the topic of how we pray.
We first need to have an attitude of reverence: what does that mean? When we start to pray, during, and after our prayer, the way we conduct ourselves should be as though we are in the presence of God.

PRAYER
O Lord! I am a child; enable me to grow beneath the shadow of Thy loving kindness. I am a tender plant; cause me to be nurtured through the outpourings of the clouds of Thy bounty. I am a sapling of the garden of love; make me into a fruitful tree. Thou art the Mighty and the Powerful, and Thou art the All-Loving, the All-Knowing, the All-Seeing.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Send Your Prayer to a family near you!
AIDS TO MEMORIZE THE PRAYER
Can be used in a Lapbook or in the class notebook

O SON OF LIGHT
THE GREATEST LONGING OF EVERY SOUL
YA BAHA BY CHRISTINA, JULIA & JEFFREY

When we pray, we must always remember that we are in the presence of God, the Almighty, and show humility before Him. In prayer we express our deep love and respect for God and act with reverence. We sit quietly in a prayerful posture and take a few moments before beginning to pray, in order to cleanse our minds of the things of this world. Some people like to fold their arms or clasp their hands together. Many people close their eyes so they are not distracted by things around them. The prayers that we recite every day can be chosen from those we know by heart or from those we find in prayer books. Once we have finished reciting a prayer, we remain still and silent, reflecting on its words. When another person is praying, we feel as though we are praying ourselves. We listen closely to the words the other is saying and maintain a reverent attitude.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá encouraged the Bahá’ís to keep their thoughts centered solely on God when praying. He urged them to forget the things of this world, what is going on around them, and even their own selves. To those who saw ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in prayer, it seemed as if He had been carried away to another world. He was free of distractions, completely absorbed in conversation with God. As we focus our thoughts on God and pray to Him with reverence, we, too, feel our hearts overflow with His love. To help us remember how we conduct ourselves during prayer, let us memorize the following words of Bahá’u’lláh:
“O Son of Light! Forget all save Me and commune with My spirit. This is of the essence of My command, therefore turn unto it.”
Bahá’u’lláh
Commune
- Being in the countryside makes Iona feel at one with nature. When she is in the countryside, Iona communes with nature.
- When Hugo prays, he feels close to God. Through prayer, Hugo communes with God.
Essence
- At the beginning of each school year, the principal spoke to all the students in the school and reminded them that they should pay attention in class, do their homework, and read as much as possible. The essence of her advice was that they should study hard.
- Ethan always thought about how to serve others and dedicate himself to helping people. Service was the essence of Ethan’s life.
RECORD THE MEANING OF WORDS FROM THE QUOTE
RECORD ANY WORDS YOU DO NOT KNOW During His travels in America, ‘Abdu’l-Baha once accepted to teach a very devoted Baha’i how to pray. He told him to come to His residence at daybreak the next day. The believer’s heart was filled with joy. He rose at dawn and rushed to the residence of ‘Abdu’l-Baha. When he entered the room of the Master, he found Him already in prayer. Realizing that he could not ask the Master any questions, he decided to do the same. So, he kneeled on the floor and began to pray. He prayed silently for his relatives, his friends, and himself. When he finished, he looked up and saw that ‘Abdu’l-Baha was still deep in prayer. So he decided to pray some more. He repeated all the prayers he knew over and over. Still, there was no movement from ‘Abdu’l-Baha. As always, this period of the class begins with activities that are intended to help the children develop skills and abilities to participate effectively in creative drama. Let us make a phone call and talk to GOD. What would you say? Download the phone template here and doecorate as you please Make prayer beads out of paper. Use any paper you have on hand including magazines. Cut narrow triangle strips (see template) and wrap TIGHTLY on a straw. Glue and let dry. Design your own prayer mat Download prayer mat template here Use different colors to make a spiral of color reminding us that we The last item in the SIMPLE lapbook is an expandable house. This is super easy to make and is based on the gentleman learning to pray. Have the kids draw the bird, the crack in the wall or anything that they think might distract them while praying. See the video example BELOW on how to put a simple doll house together. Remember, I have all the pages for you, just cut them out and glue them! My house is also in black and white and simple with no popup pieces. My video : House pieces to print, cut, and glue DOWNLOAD THE FILE WITH THE 4 ROOMS:KITCHEN, DINING ROOM, LIVING ROOM, AND BEDROOM DOWNLOAD 3D HOUSE WITH INTERACTIVE PIECES If you want to only put the door hanger with a quote or prayer or the phrase ” I am saying my prayer” you can do that for lesson 3 lapbook. You can also put both the door hanger and the house , but use the round door hanger so it will all fit. Here are the door hanger filesSTORY
Now, the believer noticed that one of his knees was beginning to ache and that his back was feeling uncomfortable. Next, he heard the birds singing outside. Glancing around the room, he observed a large crack in the wall. Then he looked at the Master again, and all of a sudden, the expression on ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s face created in him a strong desire to pray. He forgot everything else. The only desire in his heart was to be close to God and to converse with Him. He began to pray in a way that he had never prayed before. The Master had taught him how to pray.
At that very moment, ‘Abdu’l-Baha arose, approached him with a smile, and said: “When you pray, you must not think of your aching body, nor of the birds outside the window, nor of the cracks in the wall! When you wish to pray you must first know that you are standing in the presence of the Almighty!”
FREEZE: stop all movement instantly, and stand perfectly still
TURN FREEZE: Turn halfway around and then freeze instantly
JUMP FREEZE: Jump in the air, turning halfway around, and then freeze
TWIST FREEZE: Jump in the air, turning around in a full circle and then freeze.
Explain to the children that, once they have frozen, they should hold their positions until you give them the signal to move again. It is suggested that you ask the children to practice each of the four commands while still standing in their imaginary squares. Then begin. You should feel free to call out the commands as many times as you wish, in any order.
Now, move on to the activities related to the theme of the lesson, which is about how we pray. For this part of the lesson, you will need a prayer book/ Explain to the children that they will carry out a series of exercises which will help them understand what it means to treat a special object with reverence. We can show reverence, tell them, in the way we position our bodies, in the way we position our bodies, in the way we move, and in the way we use our voices.
Prayer is a conversation with God.
Paper Prayer Beads
Decorate a prayer Mat
Cut out a boy or girl with a prayer book to stand up on your desk or night table. Color and decorate as you like
Make a sword with the story in an accordion fold attached
From support materials for LESSON 3:
need to turn toward God.FOR SIMPLE LAPBOOK
Door Hanger
SUGGEST A RESOURCE