Why We Pray Grade 2 Set 1 Lesson 2

Welcome to the lesson on Why We Pray. In this lesson, we will try to answer the question WHY DO WE PRAY? We will continue to memorize the prayer  O Lord! I am a child; enable me to grow,  We will learn a new quote, hear more songs and stories, do crafts, and games, and continue to learn.

For the next 2 classes, we will memorize the following 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

Would Anyone Like To Say A Prayer?

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Memorization Aid

Download and print the memorization aid. Use it as part of the lapbook or glue it into your class notebook.

Download Filling the blank Memorization Aid here

Download the Prayer, Print and Glue to your class notebook. Download Here

BE HAPPY

TEACHING PEACE

We know that God has created every one of us and that He is aware of what we need and what we want. He is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. Why, then should we pray? God does not need our prayers, but we pray because it serves to strengthen our souls, for prayer is life food for the soul. Prayer brings life to the soul. We should pray in the morning, evening, during difficult times, and at times of great gladness. Of course, we do not only pray for ourselves but also for our family, our friends, our community, and for all of humanity.

Abdu’l-Baha assures us that if we pray for something that is in agreement with God’s wisdom, then God will provide us with it. But sometimes, unknowingly we ask for things that will harm us, and God, in His infinite wisdom does not grant our wish. To help us remember why we pray, let us memorize the following words of Abdu’l-Baha:

It is the greatest longing of every soul who is attracted to the Kingdom of God to find time to turn with entire devotion to his Beloved, so as to seek His bounty and blessing and immerse himself in the ocean of communion, entreaty, and supplication.

Abdu’l-Baha

MEANING OF WORDS

Longing

When Tanya’s brother went away to university, she missed him very much.  Tanya felt a great longing in her heart to be near her brother again. 

Rodrigo was tired after working many hours in the fields, planting crops. At the end of the day, he longed to rest.

She stood before the meeting with her head bowed and her eyes closed. Silence filled the room.  Then she lifted her head and began to intone the verses of God in a melodious voice.

Bahereh taught her children to intone beautiful prayers at the beginning of each new day and in the evening before they slept.

Immerse

In order to boil an egg, it must be completely covered with water.  To boil the egg, you must immerse it in water.

After working on the engine of the car, Norman’s hands were dirty and greasy.  So he filled a bucket of water from the well and put his hands into the water, washing off the dirt and grease.  His hands were immersed in the water.

Communion

Because of the difficulties in their own country, all the brothers left their homeland and went to different places around the world to look for work.  Many years went by, and they did not see each other or speak to one another.  But They remained in communion through their thoughts and prayers, and eventually, they were joyfully reunited as old men. 

When we pray, we turn our hearts to God and converse with Him.  Prayer is communion with God.

Entreaty

One of the king’s subjects was in great need, so he begged the king to assist him.  The king considered his subject’s entreaty and agreed to help.

The teachers were concerned that the textbooks the children were using were out of date and did not cover the latest discoveries and the most recent information, so they asked the principal to order new ones.  The principal listened to their entreaty, and now the children are using up-to-date textbooks.

MEMORIZATION CARDS FOR LESSON 2 QUOTE

MEMORIZATION WORKSHEET HERE

A Story To Illustrate The Importance Of Praying Daily

This is a story of one of the early Baha’is in the West, Lua Getsinger, and an important lesson she learned about prayer.  Lua loved God very much, and she often turned to him in supplication, that she might be enabled to live a life of service.  She prayed, too, that her eager and enthusiastic spirit would learn to be patient.  Of course, she wanted to learn quickly, without having to wait too long!

Lua knew that ‘Abdu’l-Baha wanted her to learn patience.  One day, when she was visiting Him in the Holy Land, He helped her to see that there are some things for which we must always make time, no matter how hurried we might feel.  Rushing off to breakfast without having said her usual morning prayers, Lua met ‘Abdu’l-Baha in the hallway.  He looked at her, staring deeply into her eyes.  And what do you think he said to her? “Lua,” He said, “you must never eat material food in the morning until you have had your spiritual food.”  So it was that Lua learned she must never fail to draw sustenance from God’s heavenly bounties, the source of true strength.

Another Story about Prayer: The Bejewelled Sword

There was once a little child in Persia during the days of Persia’s ancient glory.  It was customary in those days that whenever there was an important feast the people would share gifts with their friends and loved ones.  So this little child prayed very hard and loudly for a bejeweled sword to be his gift.

At the time of the feast, this little boy was waiting, eagerly to receive the sword he had prayed so hard for.  However, the time passed and the feast was almost over and the child did not receive any sword as a gift.  He was quite sad and disappointed.

His father, who never believed in God or in any kind of prayers, saw his son’s disappointment and said, “My son, can’t you see, your prayers were not answered?”

The son looked at his father and replied, “Oh yes father, my prayers were answered.”

“How can that be?” asked the father in surprise.   “You did not receive the bejeweled sword that you desired so much.

“But father, don’t you understand?” said the child, “The answer is ‘no’.  God said No.” 

Activities to help students develop skills and abilities related to drama.

1. As you did in the previous lesson, have the children stand about two meters apart and imagine that they are in their own squares.  You may ask them each to walk along the border of their square.
2. Ask the children to raise their arms and, stretching from the tips of their toes to the tips of their fingers, reach toward the sky.  Now, tell them to relax and let their arms and heads hang freely.  Repeat this exercise three or four times.
3. Next, ask your students to stand as tall as they can and raise their arms over their heads, pressing the palms of their hands together. They are candles burning brightly.  Explain to them that you will slowly count backward from ten.  As you do so, they should pretend they are melting.  By the time you reach zero, they should be like a pool of wax on the ground. The children should remain in that position until you give them the signal to move again.

The above exercises will help the children develop their skills of movement and physical expression.  They will also need to acquire increasingly effective skills of verbal expression. To assist them, ask them to say the sentence “Good morning”

• as though they were respectfully greeting a teacher
• as though they were excited to see a friend
• as though they had met a friend who was feeling sad
• as though they were trying not to wake a sleeping baby

The second set of activities has to do with the theme of today’s lesson: why we pray.  Tell the children that they are now going to improvise a situation to show why we need to eat every day to maintain our physical strength. Explain, that our souls need to turn to God in prayer to grow and remain strong and healthy.  

1. Begin by having the children return to their imaginary squares.  Ask them to show that they are full of strength by pretending to lift some imaginary objects; by jumping up high to reach something in an imaginary tree; or by building an imaginary tower.
2. Now, tell the children to pretend they are getting hungry and feeling weak.  Ask them to repeat the lifting, jumping, and building exercises.
3. Then, tell them that they are receiving food and beginning to feel strong again.  Ask them to repeat the exercises once more.

BROKEN TELEPHONE

Speaking to God is like making a phone call, you speak and have to wait for an answer.

What happens if you don’t understand the answer? Play the game Broken Telephone

Lapbook Lesson 2