Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mrs. Clinton and I'm really excited that you've joined me for our lesson today.

We're gonna have a great time learning together.

Today's lesson is called "Introducing Prayer," and it's taken from the unit "Prayer: Is it possible to speak to God?" And we'll be thinking about today why and how some people pray.

Now, sometimes learning can be a little challenging, but that's great because we can work hard together to get through it and to learn some really good new things.

So we have some keywords to help us with our lesson today.

And we're going to do I say, you say.

So.

I say prayer, you say.

I say prayer, you say.

I say prayer, you say.

And prayer are the words or thoughts to help someone talk or listen to God.

I say collectively, you say.

I say collectively, you say.

And collectively is something that you do together.

I say individual, you say.

I say individual, you say.

And individual is something you do on your own.

So our lesson has two learning cycles.

One, what is prayer? And two, why do some people pray? So let's start with our first learning cycle, what is prayer? Izzy and Andeep are talking about religious education.

Izzy says, "Why're we always learning about what people do in religious education lessons?" Andeep says, "Finding out about what people do can help us learn about their beliefs and ideas about God." So in this lesson, we're going to be finding out about prayer.

Izzy and Andeep are talking about prayer together.

"Prayer is something I think you do if you have a religion.

I don't think you pray otherwise." I wonder, do you agree with Izzy? Let's see what Andeep says.

"I think people with and without a religion pray at certain times, especially if they're in trouble or need help!" Do you think most people pray or not? So Izzy and Andeep are interested in finding out more about prayer.

They're going to talk with a few people from different religions, starting with Nadia, who is a Muslim and has a Muslim worldview.

"Hi Nadia, we want to know: what is prayer?" Nadia says, "For me, prayer is talking to God.

I usually say set prayers to God five times a day." Thank you, Nadia.

So let's check.

What, for Nadia, is prayer? Is it A, talking to a friend, B, talking to God, C, talking with your pet? You might like to pause this video to give you some time to think about your answer and to talk about it with a partner.

Come back to me when you're ready to continue with the lesson.

Welcome back.

So for Nadia, what is prayer? Was it A, B, or C? The correct answer is B.

Of course it was.

Prayer is talking to God.

Izzy and Andeep are now talking with Beth who has a Christian worldview and attends a free church.

"Hi Beth, what is prayer to you?" "For me, prayer is conversing with God.

I pray many times a day, usually quietly in my head.

It's like having a conversation." Izzy and Andeep are now talking with Brother Sam who has a Christian worldview and is an Anglican monk.

"Hi, Brother Sam.

We've heard from Nadia and Beth that prayer is talking with God.

Is that right?" "For me, prayer is listening to God as well as talking.

It should be a conversation between God and me!" Izzy and Andeep are now talking with Imam Tareeq and he has a Muslim worldview.

"What is prayer to you?" they ask.

And he says, "For me, prayer is called Salat.

And it's a way that Allah, God, has devised for humans to communicate with him.

We gather to pray collectively at my mosque." Do you remember what collectively means? That means coming together as a group to do something.

So at Imam Tareeq's mosque, people gather together to pray.

Izzy and Andeep are now talking with Fergus, who has a Christian world view and goes to an Anglican church.

"Hi Fergus.

Do you pray?" "Yes and I love to say the words from prayers written hundreds and thousands of years ago.

These are special prayers." And for Christians, you can find a lot of those prayers written in their holy book, the Bible, for Christians in the part they call the Old Testament, and in the part that they call the New Testament.

So the bits before the life of Jesus and the bits after the death and resurrection of Jesus.

So I have a question for you.

Is this true or false? All people pray in exactly the same way.

You might like to pause this video to give you time to think about your answer or maybe to talk with the person next to you.

Come back to me when you've got your answer and get ready to show me on your thumbs.

I'll see you in a bit.

Welcome back.

So is this statement, "All people pray in exactly the same way," true or false? Show me with your thumbs.

Are you ready? The answer's false.

Of course it was false.

But why? People who pray do so in many different ways.

That's why it's false.

Well done if you got that right.

That's great learning.

Now, can you match the sentence to the correct person on prayer? So who told us that prayer is listening to God? Who told us that prayer is conversing with God? And who told us prayer is talking to God? You might like to pause this video so you can think or write your answer, or maybe you want to do it with a partner or in a small group.

But when you're ready with your answer, come back to me and start the video again.

Welcome back.

So your answer might look like this.

Nadia says, "Prayer is talking to God." Brother Sam says, "Prayer is listening to God." And Beth says, "Prayer is conversing with God." Very well done if you got those three answers correct.

That is great work, great learning.

And look how much we've learned about prayer already.

It's about a conversation, it's about listening, it's about talking.

So let's go on to our second learning cycle now.

Why do some people pray? Izzy and Andeep are now thinking about why some people pray.

And Izzy says, "Prayer is something Christians and Muslims do quite regularly, but I wonder why?" And Andeep says, "I wonder if people in different religions have similar reasons for praying?" Yeah, that's a really good question.

Both really good questions.

So let's see, what do you think? Let's go on and find out some answers to these questions.

Izzy and Andeep are talking with Brother Sam.

"Why do you and other Christians pray?" And Brother Sam says, "Prayer is a superpower God has given humans." That's a brilliant way of thinking about it.

I like that.

Prayer is a superpower God has given.

"It allows us to communicate with God.

For me to be able to talk and listen to God gives me direction and peace every day.

As a monk, I have four set times to pray each day with other monks collectively." Okay, so Sam comes together with other people in his order, other monks like him, four times a day to collectively say prayers together.

Izzy and Andeep are talking now with Imam Tareeq.

"Why do you pray regularly?" And he says, "Prayer is a beautiful part of my everyday life.

I gather with others collectively and pray five times each day.

It connects me with Allah, God, throughout each day." Thank you, Imam Tareeq.

I like the fact that he said that for him prayer is a beautiful part of his day.

That's a lovely way of describing prayer.

So I have a question for you.

When people are praying, with whom are they trying to connect? Is it A, themselves, B, their religious leader, or C, God? You might like to pause this video to give you a moment to think about your answer or to discuss it with the person next to you.

Come back and start the video again when you've decided on your answer.

Welcome back.

So with whom do people try to connect when they pray? Was it A, B or C? The answer is C.

It's God.

That's who people in religions try and connect with through prayer.

Well done if you got C.

That's great.

Izzy and Andeep are now talking with Nadia.

Izzy says, "Hi Nadia.

We're now interested in why you pray." And she says, "Prayer is a way of worshipping Allah, God.

In the prayers I say five times a day, I start by declaring there is none worthy of worship except Allah, God." Izzy and Andeep are now talking with Beth.

"Hi Beth.

Why do you pray throughout each day?" And Beth says, "Prayer is a way of keeping God at the centre of my life.

Whenever I start to pray as an individual, I often start by worshipping God, telling him how great he is.

I often use words from the Bible." Thank you, Beth.

That's a good way, isn't it? How she describes prayer as a way of keeping God at the centre of her life.

Izzy and Andeep are now talking with Fergus.

"We've heard from other individuals sometimes they pray on their own as an individual and other times with people collectively.

What do you do and why?" And Fergus tells us, "At church, I pray with others collectively, but I like talking and listening to God the most on my own.

As an individual, I can concentrate on him often when I'm walking in nature." That's interesting.

So prayer isn't just about sitting and talking and listening with God.

Some people walk and pray.

That's really interesting.

I like that, Fergus.

Thank you.

I have another question for you.

So is this true or false? All religious people pray out loud collectively, together.

Is that true or false? You might like to pause this video to give you time to think about your answer and maybe to talk to the person next to you.

See if you both agree.

When you've got your answer, come back and start the video again and we'll continue with our lesson.

Welcome back.

So is it true or false? All religious people pray out loud collectively.

Show me with your thumbs, true or false? Which is it? Which is it? It's false.

Well done if you got that right.

Why? People pray in different ways at different times.

People do pray together collectively, perhaps out loud at services or gatherings, but they can also pray quietly, out loud or in their heads as individuals.

And most people we're finding do both, that they sometimes pray collectively and sometimes as individuals, sometimes out loud, sometimes in their heads.

So there are many different ways of praying to God.

Different people in Christianity and Islam pray in different ways.

Can you recall who does what? So I'd like you to pause the video and maybe on your own or in a small group, can you recall and remember the different ways that Brother Sam, Imam Tareeq, Beth, Fergus and Nadia pray at different times in different ways? See how much you can recall from our lesson.

Come back to me when you're ready to carry on with the lesson.

Welcome back.

Well, I hope you've had some good thinking time or maybe some good discussion time.

I now have a task for you.

Using the case studies from this lesson, explain why some people pray.

Try and use these two words in your answer, collectively and individual.

So you could use two, three, four or even five of these case studies if you wanted to.

But try and use at least two and remember to explain why some people pray, the reasons why some people pray, and try and use collectively and individual in your answer.

So pause the video to give you some time to work on your answer.

You might want to write it or it may be that you do it as a discussion.

And come back to me when you've got your answers and we'll start this video again.

Welcome back.

Let's have a look what your answer might have looked like.

Imam Tareeq said that Muslims pray collectively in order to connect with God.

Brother Sam said that prayer is a superpower God has given humans to communicate with him collectively or as an individual.

Nadia said that prayer is a way of giving worship to God, Allah, and Beth agreed with her.

She often makes up her own individual prayers to God, worshipping him from words from the Bible.

Well done if your answer looked anything like that.

And, of course, you might have put Fergus into your answer as well.

Well done for working very hard on that answer.

We're at the end of our lesson now.

So let's sum up what we've covered today and what we have learned.

Many people from different religions understand that prayer is a conversation with God.

It may be speaking to God or listening to God.

Prayer can happen in many different ways.

Prayer may be said as individuals or collectively.

Some prayers are made up in the moment and some are recited and can be very old.

So well done on our learning today.

Thank you for doing our lesson with me today.

I've really enjoyed listening to those five different people talk about why they pray and how they pray and what prayer is.

I hope you've enjoyed it too.

I'm going to say goodbye now, but I hope to see you again in another lesson.

Goodbye.