“Lord, Teach us to PRAY” (Luke 11:1) September-October 2010 Saint Mary’s Coptic Orthodox Church of Ottawa Sunday School Grades 4-7

What we will study about PRAYER 1st WHAT is PRAYER? 2nd WHY do we PRAY? 3rd HOW do we PRAY? 4th PRACTICAL Exercises to help us PRAY … Every Sunday, at 12:15pm, right after Songs Grades 4,5,6,7 together Do I have to pay attention? … Will there be a quiz? …

WHAT is PRAYER? A bridge … connecting an individual to God Like Jacob’s ladder … connecting heaven to earth “Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.” Genesis 28:12

WHAT is PRAYER? A bridge connecting an individual to God Like Jacob’s ladder connecting heaven to earth NOT only words BUT a link or connection Prayer is your connection … Your link to God with your heart & thought

Am I connected? When I pray, … am I just talking? Or, am I connected? To help me get connected with all my heart & thoughts to My Lord Quiet Place Slow down to Contemplate Close my eyes to Concentrate

Close my eyes … Close my eyes to shut out distractions Close my eyes when praying my own intentions Close my eyes when praying the Psalms I memorized Memorize more Psalms and Prayers from the Agbeya … The more I Memorize, the more I can Close-my-eyes The more I can Close-my-eyes, the more I Concentrate The more I Concentrate, the more I Contemplate The more I Contemplate, the more I Connect to Him

WHY do we PRAY? Following the Lord Jesus (He taught us to pray) Prayer is the secret to our Victory Prayer is our expression of Love & Thanks-giving Prayer is a True Help to the servant in their service

We PRAY because ... Our Lord Jesus taught us to Pray! Prayer was an important part of the Lord’s life on earth “What could convince us of the importance of prayer, more than that the Lord Himself prayed!” said Tertullian, an early Christian teacher. Even though He was NOT in need of Prayer (Jesus as God has NO “need” to Pray), and yet ... Our Lord Jesus set for us an example to follow His steps. “leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps” (1 Peter 2:21)

We PRAY because ... Our Lord Jesus taught us to Pray! After the healing of Simon’s mother-in-law from her high fever, the Lord Jesus ... “went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed” (Mark 1:35) Before choosing the twelve disciples, the Lord Jesus ... “went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.” (Luke 6:12) During the miracle of Transfiguration, the Lord Jesus ... “took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray.” (Luke 9:28-29) In the beautiful prayer in (John 17), the Lord Jesus prayed for Himself, His disciples, and for the sake of all who believe in Him through them.

Our Lord Jesus, please teach us to Pray ... Pray AFTER AFTER coming home from school (pray the Absolution of the None) AFTER a long day (pray the Compline, prayer in the Agbeya) AFTER our prayers our answered (to give thanks to the Lord) Pray BEFORE BEFORE starting our day (pray the Prime prayer in the Agbeya) BEFORE our meals (giving thanks to the Lord), BEFORE writing a test (asking the Lord’s help) BEFORE making important decisions (pray the Decision-Making prayer) Pray CONTINUOUSLY (all the time) Pray DURING Pray the Lord’s Prayer, the Psalms, your own prayers throughout the day. Pray the “Jesus” prayer as you are walking, resting, throughout the day. Pray for EVERYONE self, family, friends, spiritual servants, the Abouna’s, the poor (Lord’s brethren) for loved ones, and for those who trouble you - forgive everyone & pray for all

We PRAY because ... Our Lord Jesus taught us to Pray! Please remember your A-B-C-D-E ... Pray AFTER Pray BEFORE Pray CONTINUOUSLY (all the time) Pray DURING Pray the Lord’s Prayer, the Psalms, your own prayers throughout the day. Pray the “Jesus” prayer as you are walking, resting, throughout the day. Pray for EVERYONE self, family, friends, spiritual servants, the Abouna’s, the poor (Lord’s brethren) for loved ones, and for those who trouble you - forgive everyone & pray for all

We PRAY because ... Prayer gives us Victory! CAREFUL – WARNING – ATTENTION – IMPORANT Whoever dares to say that he does NOT need to pray, is actually saying that he does NOT need God, and saying that he does NOT need God’s help! “If you see someone who does NOT like to pray, know that there can be NO goodness in him. He who does NOT pray to God, is dead, and there is no life in him.”

We PRAY because ... Prayer gives us Victory! The devils are always working to fight us, trying to bring us away from God. The devil is VERY powerful, like a “strong man”. But God is MUCH MORE powerful, like “a stronger man”. When we pray, we feel God’s helping hand to defeat our enemy (the devil).

We PRAY because ... Prayer gives us Victory! When we pray, we feel God’s helping hand to defeat our enemy (the devil). “For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.” (2 Chronicles 20:12) Me = 1 strength point (no power) Devil = 100 points (great multitude) Me + God = 1 + 1,000,000,000,000,... (victory!)

We PRAY because ... Prayer gives us Victory! Our Lord Jesus gives us the key to victory over devils: “This kind (the devil) can come out by nothing but PRAYER and FASTING.” (Mark 9:39) Our saintly fathers give us hope in our battle against the devils, with their saying: “There is nothing more scary to the devils, more than to see somebody praying!”

We PRAY because ... Prayer gives us Victory! Beware of the devil’s tricks! Common tricks of the devil: Makes you feel too “busy” … no time to pray Makes you feel too “tired” with no energy to pray Even if you insist to pray, tries to make you “distracted” with no concentration to pray FIGHT and DO NOT GIVE IN to the devil’s tricks, but … “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7)

We PRAY because ... Prayer gives us Victory! FIGHT and DO NOT GIVE IN to the devil’s tricks, but … Set a set TIME for your prayers (morning, afternoon, before bed) Pray while you have ENERGY (don’t leave prayer to the very end) CONCENTRATE when you pray (quiet place & close eyes) Prayer may be “hard” at first, but keep at it, and it gets easier. Prayer is your weapon, keep using it, and you’ll get better at it!

We PRAY because ... We Love God, and to Thank God!

We PRAY because ... We Love God, and to Thank God!

“What happens in Heaven when we Pray ...” a funny story received by email I dreamt that I went to Heaven and an angel was showing me around. We walked side-by-side inside a large workroom filled with angels. My angel guide stopped in front of the first section and said, “This is the Receiving Section. Here, all petitions to God said in prayer are received.” I looked around in this area, and it was terribly busy with so many angels sorting out petitions written on large paper sheets and scraps from people all over the world. Then we moved on down a long corridor until we reached the second section. The angel then said to me, “This is the Packaging and Delivery Section. Here, the graces and blessings the people asked for are processed and delivered to the living persons who asked for them.” I noticed again how busy it was there. There were many angels working hard at that station, since so many blessings had been requested and were being packaged for delivery to Earth. Finally at the farthest end of the long corridor we stopped at the door of a very small station. To my great surprise, only one angel was seated there, idly doing nothing. "This is the Thanksgiving Section, my angel friend quietly admitted to me. He seemed embarrassed." How is it that there is no work going on here? ' I asked. "So sad," the angel sighed. "After people receive the blessings that they asked for, very few send back thank-you cards"

"How does one acknowledge God's blessings? " I asked. "Simple," the angel answered. Just say, "Thank you, Lord. " "What blessings should we acknowledge?" I asked. "If you have food in the fridge, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep you are richer than 75% of this world. If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish, you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy. " "And if you your own a computer, you are part of 1% in the world who has that opportunity." "If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the many who will not even survive this day. " "If you have never experienced the fear in battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation ... you are ahead of 700 million people in the world." "If you can attend a church without the fear of harassment, arrest, torture or death you are envied by, and more blessed than, three billion people in the world." "If your parents are still alive and happily married ...you are very rare." "If you can hold your head up and smile, you are more blessed than many in doubt and despair ..."

We PRAY because ... Prayer is a true Help to us all!

We PRAY because ... Prayer is a true Help to us all!

PRAY The Lord’s Prayer The Jesus Prayer (My Lord Jesus Christ, ...) Talk to God, Praise the Lord, being Thankful to God, asking for Forgiveness This Lent, in addition to our usual prayers, set aside 15 minutes at 7pm every night to pray (together in spirit, while in our own homes) The Lord’s Prayer The Jesus Prayer (My Lord Jesus Christ, ...) The Agpeya & Psalms Your own Prayers Prayers at Church come on time, pay attention, make an effort to understand Bible Readings

As you Pray Sign of the Cross Pray slowly Concentrate Pray respectfully Standing up Kneeling Metania (worship) NO distractions Quiet place Close your eyes