Our Father in Heaven
Month 8: Talking with God — The Praying Family · Memory Verse
Today's Scripture
Read together: Matthew 6:9
9 So then, this is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.
Memory Verse
“So then, this is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.”— Matthew 6:9 (BSB)memorize this week
📖 Bible-in-a-Year (optional)
Today's reading: Jeremiah 4–6
Reading the whole Bible in a year — do this when you have extra time. (God pleads with His people to return to Him.)The Heart of It
Today we slow down on the very first line Jesus taught us to pray: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name." Every word is a gift. "Our" reminds us that we never pray alone. We belong to a family of God's children all over the world. "Father" tells us who is listening. He's not a distant force. He's a Dad who delights in us. "In heaven" reminds us this Father is also the King of all things. He is powerful enough to actually do what we ask. And "hallowed be Your name" means we begin prayer by treating God as holy, special, and worthy. We put Him first before we ever mention our own needs.
That's a beautiful order to learn by heart. So many of our prayers rush straight to "please give me." But Jesus teaches us to begin with God Himself. We begin with who He is, and how good and holy He is. When we start there, our worries shrink to the right size. We remember how big our Father is. Memorizing this verse this week isn't just filling our heads with words. It's planting a pattern in our hearts. And that pattern will shape how we talk to God for the rest of our lives.
Around the Table
Our Father in heaven! God is our Daddy in heaven, and His name is special.
Let's do it: Say the verse with hand motions. Point up for "in heaven." Hug yourself for "Father."
Jesus teaches us to begin prayer by thinking about who God is before we ask for things.
Let's talk: What does the word "our" tell us? Do we ever pray alone?
"Hallowed" means treated as holy. We start prayer by honoring God's name, not by listing what we want.
Let's go deeper: Imagine you always began prayer by praising who God is first. How might that change your prayers?
💬 Conversation Starter
What's your favorite name or nickname someone calls you? Why do you like it? God's name tells us exactly who He is. He is holy and good.
🛡️ Defending the Faith
Why can we trust these exact words? The Gospel of Matthew came from an apostle, or from the eyewitness testimony of the apostles. Then it was copied carefully for hundreds of years. We have thousands of early copies, and they match closely. So we can be sure we're reading what Jesus really said.
For Dad · Go Deeper
There's deep pastoral wisdom in the order of this prayer. Beginning with "hallowed be Your name" trains the heart to worship before it asks. It teaches us to be God-centered before we are self-centered. A praying family that learns this rhythm is being quietly guarded against treating God like a cosmic vending machine. As you drill this verse with the kids this week, model it yourself. When you pray aloud, lead with adoration before petition. Start with something like, "Father, You are holy, You are good." You are not just teaching memory work. You are forming worshipers. Their first instinct under pressure will be to remember how great their God is.
Draws on: Max Anders, Praying the Lord's Prayer.
Let's Pray Together
"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. You are holy and good, and we want to honor You first of all. Thank You for being our Father. In Jesus' name, amen."
Prayer starts with God and who He is, before it ever gets to me.