Opening Prayer

         First: please tell the children the story Learning how to pray.

         Second: please talk to them about these points of the story.

          What did he think about praying before he was sick?

          Why did he change his idea?

          Why was the man found with his head laid over the chair?

          Was that Jesus? We don’t know. This person could be his protector spirit or a spiritual friend who came to help at the time of disincarnation.

         Third: please split the children into three groups and give them some copies of THE SPIRITS’ BOOK. Please ask them to find questions 658, 659, 660, 662 and 666. Each group will have to read and explain one of these questions (if it’s a big group of children, you could ask two groups to read and explain the same question. Please ask the second group to present their part by complementing what the first group mentioned). Please distribute copies of these questions by the end of the activity so the children can glue it to their notebook.

         Click here to print these questions from THE SPIRITS’ BOOK.

         Obs.: as the children explain the concept of prayer and their views on the story, please add any important points if necessary. You could use the following statements as a foundation for your argument.

         What is a prayer? It is a chat with God. We can talk to God at anytime and anywhere. We don’t need to bend our knees or join our hands to pray. We don’t even need to look at images or use complicated terms within our prayer. It only matters to God if we have good feelings; if we cultivate goodness in our hearts whilst we pray.

         Why do we need to pray? We need to pray to stay in tune with God; to be helped. We also pray in order to feel courageous, get intuition and help from our protector spirit or our spiritual friends.

         Does God listen to our prayers? Does he always give us what we ask for? Yes, God always listens to our prayers. Therefore, it’s not always the case that what we ask for is the best for us. It could be compared to a parent who doesn’t give his young child a toy that could harm him.

         How is prayer seen in other religions? Why do they feel it’s necessary to follow certain rituals? Jesus didn’t perform any rituals, as he prayed in many different places: at the top of a mountain, at the last supper, with the disciples, on his own, etc. We must respect other people’s beliefs, though.

         Should we just pray when we are faced with difficult challenges? No, we shouldn’t just pray when we are in difficulty. We also should pray when everything is ok so we have the strength and faith to overcome difficult challenges when they come through. The spiritist teacher could mention the example of the water from a swimming pool: ff the water doesn’t get treated with the right products and cleaned regularly; it will get full of impurities and dirty. It might even change the colour: it could become green and filthy. This could be compared to us: we need to pray regularly (everyday) so we can stay in tune with God and be strong enough to go through the challenges which are part of life.

         Final Prayer

         Class suggested being suitable for: 3rd cycle (11 to 12 years old).

         Translation: Carolina von Scharten, London, Sir William Crookes Spiritist Society linked to BUSS - The British Union of Spiritist Societies.