Objects:  Your own hands and the hands of the children.  Tie it into the 5 finger exercises we use in class going up the mountain in the 10 Commandment exercise. You will need paper plates so the children can put their hand down on it and trace their hand. Then they can number the fingers 1 2 3 4 5 and write down what each finger represents.  I also recommend that the teacher hold up his or her hand as they explain each finger have the children wiggle their fingers as they repeat.

Then the teacher spells out the leaders from the little finger to the thumb

 T  H  A  N  K  with the Left Hand and then

                                                        From the Thumb to the little finger

                                                          J   E S U S    with the Right Hand

Stretch       Stretch    Raise your hands and Stretch your fingers Three times each time moving your arms higher and higher.      Stretch   Stretch    Stretch

This also introduces the children to Praise and lifting up their hands in acknowledge of God.  Remember children are like sponges they aborb everything!

Have the children repeat this several times.

Theme:  Prayer  A Real Heroes Tool.   This is also a good time to explain about the prayer cloth or Tallit. How in the OT that it was told before His birth that he would have healings upon his wings.  The wings hang down from the Tallit or prayer cloth. How the woman ran to Jesus and just simply touched the hem of his garment which is the wings.

Scripture:    We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you.  Colossians 1: 3  I believe the most important part of any prayer or prayer life is to first give THANK's to God for all things. On their level I like to have the children say outloud one at a time and then all together  THANK  YOU  JESUS  and repeat it.

Have you ever had trouble when you are with a friend finding something to say to them?  I have many times.  I like to walk and sometimes I take a friend with me on the walking path here in Wheeling. We will walk perhaps over a mile before we speak to each other, or talk. We just have our minds someplace else or just can't think of anything to talk about or say.  Well sometimes that same type of thing happens to me when I am praying, I just cant think of anything to say.  So in music we are using our hands and fingers. We are learning music with the numbers 1 2 3 4 5. Remember One is Home.

ave a friend that I walk with every day and sometimes we go for a long time without either of us saying anything.  We just can't think of anything to say.

So just as Moses went up the mountain and we are learning the 10 Commandments here is a little exercise for us to remember in prayer.  It might be called the 5 finger prayer.

First, I want you to put your hands together in front of you as if you are praying.  Keep your eyes open so that you can see your hands.  You will notice that the closest finger to you is the thumb. We call that HOME in our lessons. The first finger or the THUMB is closest to you. So the THUMB represents our HOME and to pray for our family. Mom and Dad, brother's sisters, and relatives.

The next finger is called your index finger, or Number 2 in our lesson program. It is between the two black keys on the keyboard. Some people call it the POINTER finger for it is used to point.  So Let this finger remind you to pray for those who teach you and point you in the right direction, like our Sunday school teachers, and school teachers, and our preacher and those who help us in life.

The next finger is the tallest finger. It is number 3 in our keyboard lessons. The number 3 is very important as it is the place where we learn to CROSS under as we go up the keyboard.  Since it is the tallest finger, Let us pray in Thanksgiving to God for his son Jesus who died for us on the CROSS.

The fourth finger is the called the ring finger. This is the finger that it is also the weakest of all your fingers. So let us pray for the sick and the people who dont know Jesus.

"For God so loved the World that He gave his only son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life"

The next finger is the smallest finger is number 5 in our keyboard lessons. Let this little finger remind you to pray for yourself. For just like you it is small and growing. So pray to God to help you grow in spirit, mind and body.

So the next time you are talking to God, and you can't think of anything to say, let the "Five Finger Prayer" help you.  

Dear Lord, we thank you for prayer. It is good to have a friend to talk to, but even friends sometimes have trouble thinking of something to say. Help us to remember this Five Finger Prayer to remember those who need our prayers. Amen.