Lesson: Jesus Says "Ask, Seek, Knock"

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A child knocks on the door
This free Bible lesson on prayer is based on Matthew 7:7-12 in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Use it in your Sunday School or Children’s Church. Please modify to best meet the ministry setting and the children you will teach. We welcome your ideas and feedback in the comment section below.
Gospel Connection: In this passage, we are reminded of the openness of God. God wants us to come to Him. He wants us to pray to Him about all of our needs, seek His will in all that we do, and knock on the doors of Heaven so that they can be opened to us. God wants a deep personal relationship with each of us. Jesus has opened the way for that relationship by paying for our sins on the cross. He now hears our prayers based on the righteous standing of Jesus, so in faith we can pray with great confidence.
Learning Aim: Children will learn that God loves them and will answer their prayers.

Lesson Title:   Ask, Seek, Knock
Bible Reference: Matthew 7:7-12
Target Age Group: Elementary
Learning Context: Sunday School
Target Time Frame: One Hour
Print Friendly: [print_link] this lesson plan

Memory Verse: Matthew 7:7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”
Basic Supply List:

  1. Bible
  2. Construction Paper
  3. Crayons
  4. Marker
  5. Index Cards

You can also download our prayer activity sheets and printable Lord’s Prayer coloring book.
Note: In the teaching plan below the words in italics are meant to be read aloud. The regular text is simply directions for the teacher.

> > > > Basic Teaching Plan < < < <

Introduction:  Begin by asking the children to think of the greatest gift that anyone has ever given them.  They are likely to say a toy that they received for their birthday or Christmas.  After everyone has had a chance to share say, We all have been given some good gifts from our parents and friends, but do you know that God gives us gifts as well?  God’s gifts come to us in the form of blessings.  He has blessed us with good health, friends, and our families.  He has blessed our parents with jobs so they can give us everything that we need.  The greatest blessing that God has given us is Salvation, or the gift of spending eternity in Heaven.  He gave us this when He allowed Jesus to die on the cross for our sins.  We should have to die for our sins, but Jesus made a way for us to live in Heaven for eternity instead.  Let’s read Matthew 7:7-12 to learn more about how God blesses us and how we can be closer to Him. 
Biblical Evidence:  Begin by reading (or having a child read) Matthew 7:7-8.  Say, If we want to find God in our lives and be closer to Him, all we have to do is seek Him out.  Seeking for God is like playing hide and go seek.  We look for God in the places that we think He will be.  We can seek for God at church or through reading the Bible.  If there is anything in our lives that we need, we should ask God for it.  This verse is telling us that if we ask in the name of Jesus, God will answer us.  The answer might not come right away or be the answer that we hoped for, but God will hear us and answer us according to His will. 
Next read Matthew 7:9-11.  Say, We are just humans, but we know how to give good gifts to each other.  If your sister is having a bad day, you know what to do to cheer her up.  On Father’s day, you give your father something to show that you love him.  If we can do this and we are just humans, then we have to believe that God will give good things to us as well. 
Lastly, read Matthew 7:12-13.  Say, Lastly, we are reminded that God wants us to be like Him.  We should treat other people how we want to be treated.  If we want others to treat us good then we must treat others good.  This is what God would do and what we should do as well. 
Hide and Seek:  To reinforce the idea of seeking out God in all situations, have the children play hide and seek.  When they are finished say, while playing the game it was difficult to find others and sometimes it may feel like it is hard to find God, but He is always there and if you seek for Him you will find Him. 
Giving Gifts:  Remind the class that God gives us good gifts and wants us to give good gifts to others as well. Have each student draw a picture to give to a friend.  Make sure you write To: and From: on the picture with each child to help them understand that they are giving their artwork away.  Remind them that if we ask God for something that He will answer us.
Bible Verse Search: Before class, write each word of the Bible verse on an index card and hide the index cards around the room.  When the time is right, reveal to the children that there are index cards hidden around the room and send them on a hunt for the cards.  When all of the cards have been located challenge the children to put the Bible verse on the cards in order (You will have to do this for the younger kids of course).  Have the children take turns scrambling and unscrambling the verse. 
Review Questions:  Use the following questions to review the main ideas of the stories.

  1. What do we call good gifts that come from God? We call them blessings. 
  2. Will God answer us, if we ask him for something? Yes.   
  3. How can we seek God? We seek God by reading the Bible and attending church, where we can learn more about Him. 
  4. What is the very best gift that God has given us? God gave us the gift of Salvation, which means that we can be saved from our sins and spend eternity in Heaven.
  5. How should we treat others? We should treat others in the way that we want to be treated. 
  6. What can you do to show kindness to others?  Answers will vary.

Closing:  Close by asking the children if there is anything that they need, that they would like to ask God for right now.  After each child has had the opportunity to share their needs, pray for them, their needs. Ask that God would reveal Himself to the children as they learn to seek Him more and more.    

2 thoughts on “Lesson: Jesus Says "Ask, Seek, Knock"”

  1. Apologies for the one star review, I meant to press 5 stars!! This has been very helpful to me in preparing for this Sunday. Thank you!

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