We Can Really Talk to a Real God
Month 4: The Teacher (Part 1) · Why We Believe
Today's Scripture
Read together: Matthew 6:6 & Hebrews 4:14-16
6 But when you pray, go into your inner room, shut your door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. — Matthew 6:6
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin. 16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. — Hebrews 4:14-16
Memory Verse
“So then, this is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.”— Matthew 6:9 (BSB)
📖 Bible-in-a-Year (optional)
Today's reading: 2 Chronicles 2-5
Reading the whole Bible in a year — do this when you have extra time. (Around Day 114 of 365 — Solomon builds the temple and God's glory fills the house.)The Heart of It
It's a fair question for a thinking child. When I pray, is anyone actually there? Jesus answers with total confidence. He tells us to go into our room, shut the door, and pray to "your Father, who is unseen." And He says "your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." Jesus would not send us to talk to an empty room. He came from the Father's side, and He returned there. He stakes His word on it. God hears. And the writer of Hebrews shows us why we can be so sure. We have a great High Priest, Jesus, who passed through the heavens. Now He invites us to "approach the throne of grace with confidence."
Think about what that means. In the Old Testament, only the high priest could enter God's most holy place. He could go only once a year, and only with blood. But now Jesus has died and risen, and He speaks to the Father for us. So the curtain is torn open, and even a small child can come boldly. Not because we are good enough, but because Jesus is. He understands every feeling we have, "yet without sin." So prayer is not shouting into the dark. It is not hoping the universe is listening. It is coming to a real Father, through a real Savior, who is really alive. We don't pray to a force or a feeling. We pray to a Person who promised to hear.
Around the Table
When you pray, God is really there and really listening, even when you can't see Him. He never says, "I'm too busy."
Let's do it: Close your eyes and pray one sentence. Then say together, "God heard that!"
Jesus promised that God hears us in secret. And because Jesus died and rose, we can come to God boldly, like walking right up to the King.
Let's talk: What's the difference between hoping someone might hear you and knowing they will?
Our confidence in prayer doesn't rest on how good we are. It rests on Jesus, our High Priest, who opened the way to God's throne of grace.
Let's go deeper: Jesus understands every temptation you face. How does knowing that change how honest you can be when you pray?
💬 Conversation Starter
Who is someone you can call any time, day or night, who will always pick up? God is even better than that. He never misses your call.
🛡️ Defending the Faith
Sometimes someone will say, "Prayer is just talking to yourself. Nobody's really there." You can answer kindly. "If God doesn't exist, you're right. But the evidence points the other way. A universe with a beginning needs a Maker. The careful design of life points to a Designer. And Jesus rose from the dead in real history to prove He is who He claimed to be. So prayer isn't talking to yourself. It's talking to the God who is actually there, through the Savior who actually rose." Then add, gently, "Have you ever honestly tried talking to Him?" We always give our answer "with gentleness and respect" ().
For Dad · Go Deeper
The truth that Christ keeps on praying for us is one of the most pastorally powerful truths in Scripture. Yet many believers live as though prayer depends on their own performance. Hebrews says otherwise. Our access rests on a High Priest who "always lives to make intercession" for us (). That means your worst praying day still reaches the throne, because the welcome is anchored in Jesus, not in how hard you pray. Teach your kids this early, and they'll be spared years of secret guilt about "not praying well enough." And teach it to yourself. You may approach boldly not when you feel holy, but precisely when you feel weak. That is what the throne of grace is for.
Draws on: Dane Ortlund, Gentle and Lowly.
Let's Pray Together
"Father, thank You that You are real. Thank You that You truly hear us when we pray. Thank You, Jesus, for opening the way to God. Help us come to You boldly today. In Jesus' name, amen."
I'm not praying into the dark. I'm talking to a real Father, through a risen Savior who always hears.