Divide the Lord’s Prayer into the eight sections named below, and print each in large letters upon a long strip of cardboard or pasteboard, the whole being arranged so that it may be fitted together upon a blackboard or screen. Paint each section differently, as indicated below:—
Our Father who art in heaven—gold.
Hallowed be thy name—green (the thought being of evergreen).
Thy kingdom come—purple, the royal color.
Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven—blue, the sky color.
Give us this day our daily bread—yellow, the bread color.
And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors—silver, in thought of coins.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil—red, which represents sin, and also Christ’s blood, which delivers us from sin.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.—white, since this sums up all the colors.
At the meeting, these sections will be held by eight children, who will come forward one by one when called for, hand in their portions of the prayer, and at the same time read them aloud. The speaker will talk a little about each section of the prayer as it is handed in, telling its meaning, and illustrating it by some story from the Bible. The stories I suggest are:—
Our Father—what Christ said about God’s care for the world, that not a sparrow falls without his knowledge.
Hallowed be thy name—the giving of the Ten Commandments, and especially the third one.
Thy kingdom come—Christ’s parable of the mustard seed.
Thy will be done—Christ’s prayer in Gethsemane.
Our daily bread—Elijah fed by the ravens, or the story of the manna.
Forgive us our debts—the parable of the unjust steward.
Lead us not into temptation—the story of Christ’s temptation.
For thine is the glory—John’s vision of the glorified Christ.
After each section, as it is thus considered, have the children repeat that part of the prayer softly together. When the entire prayer has been talked over, and stands in its various colored sections before the children, have them all fold their hands and repeat the whole of it together.