Holy Spirit Fire Extinguishers s4
Daniel Prays to God
Scripture Passage: Daniel 6:1-23
Lesson Objective and Application ......
Children will learn that Daniel knew it was important to talk to God every day. They will also learn that God protected Daniel in the lions’ den.
At the conclusion of this lesson, the children will say a prayer and ask God to help them try to pray every day like Daniel did.
Supply List ......
Bible Lesson ......
Introduction
I have something special in this paper bag. I am going to give you three clues about it. Try to guess what is in my bag. Here is the first clue. The item inside my bag is yellow. Do you know what it is? Allow for guesses but don’t tell the answer yet. Here is the second clue. It is a wild animal. Allow for guesses but don’t tell the answer yet. Here is the third clue. This is the sound that this animal makes – ROAR. Make a loud lion roar. Do you know now? Allow for guesses. That’s right. I have a lion in my bag. Do you think it is a real lion? Pull the lion from the bag. Oh, you were right! It’s just a toy lion. Boys and girls let me hear you roar like a lion! Allow roars. Great job, your lion roars sound really scary. Speaking of scary, did you know that there was a man in the Bible who spent the night with some hungry lions? I am going to open my Bible to Daniel chapter 6. Listen carefully to find out who the man was and what happened to him. Let’s ask God to help us be good listeners. Pray and thank God for each boy and girl who came to Gopher Buddies this week. Ask God to help the children listen carefully and understand the lesson.
Lesson
The Bible tells us that Daniel worked for the king. Daniel always did a good job in all of his work. The king liked Daniel. The king would ask Daniel to help him make choices for the kingdom. The king knew Daniel was a good man. He knew that Daniel always did what he was supposed to do.
However, not everyone liked Daniel. The Bible tells us there were some men who were jealous of Daniel. They wanted the king to like them best. These men didn’t want the king to ask Daniel for help; they wanted the king to ask them to help make choices for the kingdom. So, these men decided that they would get Daniel into trouble. They watched everything Daniel did. Let’s get out our binoculars and pretend to watch Daniel, too. Have the children make pretend binoculars with their hands and hold them to their eyes.
The jealous men watched Daniel when he got up in the morning. Are you looking up at Daniel’s window? Pretend to look through binoculars. Do you think that they saw Daniel doing something wrong? Allow responses. No, they saw Daniel praying to God. So the men came back later during the day and watched Daniel. Pretend to look through binoculars. Are you looking up at Daniel’s window? Do you think that they saw Daniel doing something wrong? Allow responses. No, they saw Daniel praying to God again. So the men came back later during the day and watched Daniel. Pretend to look through binoculars. Are you looking up at Daniel’s window? Do you think that they saw Daniel doing something wrong? Allow responses. No, they saw Daniel praying to God again. Three times a day, Daniel prayed to God.
Now the jealous men had an idea! They could not catch Daniel doing something wrong, so they would ask the king to make a new law that would get Daniel into trouble. The new law would say that for thirty days the people in the kingdom could only pray to the king. If anyone broke this law, they would be thrown into a pit with hungry lions. Oh no! Daniel was going to be in big trouble!
The jealous men got ready to watch Daniel again. Let’s get out our binoculars and pretend to watch Daniel, too. Have the children make pretend binoculars with their hands and hold them to their eyes. The jealous men watched Daniel when he got up in the morning. Are you looking up at Daniel’s window? Pretend to look through binoculars. Do you think that they saw Daniel praying to God? Allow responses. Yes, they saw Daniel praying to God. So the men came back later during the day and watched Daniel. Pretend to look through binoculars. Are you looking up at Daniel’s window? Do you think that they saw Daniel praying to God? Allow responses. Yes, they saw Daniel praying to God again. So the men came back later during the day and watched Daniel. Pretend to look through binoculars. Are you looking up at Daniel’s window? Do you think they saw Daniel praying to God? Allow responses. Yes, they saw Daniel praying to God again. Three times a day, Daniel always prayed to God. Daniel knew that it was important to pray to God. Daniel knew that God would take care of him.
Oh no, Daniel had broken the new law. Daniel was going to be thrown in the pit with hungry lions! Show the lion from the bag. The king was very sad. He liked Daniel but he knew that he had to follow the law and throw Daniel into the pit. Let’s roar like the lions. Allow roars.
Your lion roars make me scared! But Daniel was not scared! He believed that God would take care of him and that is exactly what God did. The next morning the king went to the pit and called out to Daniel. Listen as I read Daniel’s answer to the king. Read Daniel 6:21-23. Yeah! God had kept Daniel safe!
Application
The Bible tells us that Daniel always prayed to God. Daniel had special times when he prayed. He prayed in the morning, in the middle of the day, and later in the evening. Daniel knew that it was important to talk to God every day. Boys and girls, do you have a special time in the day when you talk to God? Allow time for responses. Did you know that in the front of your Quiet Time Diary there is a special place where you and a grown-up can write down things you want to pray for? Show the children the “My Prayer Diary” page in the Quiet Time Diary. This coming week I want you to try to set aside a special time of day to do your Quiet Time Diary and to work on your “Prayer Diary.” Maybe at your house mornings are the best time to read your Bible and pray. Maybe bedtime is the best time for you and your family. It’s not important when you have your special prayer time; the important thing is to try to talk to God every day like Daniel did.
Prayer Time Suggestion ......
Thank God for listening to our prayers. Ask God to help us try to talk to Him every day as Daniel did.
Review Questions ......
Tell the children that when they think they know the answers to the questions, they should let you know by roaring like a lion.
Snack Time ......
JLion Goodies
Serve lion-themed fruit snacks or animal crackers.
¿Lion Crackers
Use any round crackers and squeeze canned cheese on them to make a lion’s mane. Add raisins for eyes.
Discipleship Time ......
Use Activity Sheet (I Can Pray – Lesson 2)
Questions for Further Discussion:
1. When did Daniel pray? (Every day...three times a day)
2. Did Daniel pray to the king? (No, Daniel prayed to God.)
3. What did Daniel know was important to do? (Talk to God every day)
4. When do you think is a good time for you to pray at your house? (Answers will vary.)
Prayer Time
Ask God to help the children set aside a special time each day to pray and talk to Him.
Suggested sentence prayer
Dear God, please help me to try to pray every day this coming week like Daniel did.
Scripture Memory Time ......
Verse: Luke 18:1b
Activity — Pop Up
Have the children sit in a circle with you. Tell them that you are all going to pretend to be popcorn popping. You stand or “pop up” first and say, “That.” Point to the next child and have that child pop up and say “men.” Take turns going around the circle standing and saying one word from the verse at a time. Make sure to include the reference. As the children become more familiar with the verse, have them “pop” faster. Repeat as time allows.
Game Time ......
JLion Tail Chase
Make “tails” from braided yarn scraps, dark colored socks, or strips of felt. Tuck the tails into waistbands or shoes. When you call “go,” the children will begin to step on each other’s “tails” or remove each other’s tail if it is tucked into a waistband. As the children lose their “tails,” they are out of the game and must sit down on the side. The game continues until all of the “lions” have lost their “tails.” Repeat as time allows.
¿Feed the Lions
Mount a picture of a lion’s head onto the bottom of a box approximately the size of a file box. Cut a hole large enough for a beanbag (or the ball you have chosen) to go through in the mouth area. Stand the box upright and place a heavy book or item inside to help hold the box in place. Have the children form a line and take turns trying to toss the three beanbags or balls into the lion’s mouth. Repeat until each child has had a turn or as time allows.
Optional: A paper plate makes a great lion’s face for another decorating option. Add some yarn, cloth strips, construction paper, or felt for a mane and draw the eyes, nose, and mouth.
I Can Pray – Lesson 2 99