The 5 Finger Prayer is a simple way to approach God in prayer. Print this prayer template worksheet and use this easy-to-understand prayer method for kids. Try it at home for nightly prayer or as a Sunday School activity for kids!
Teaching kids to pray is important. First, it establishes where we should go with all of our troubles and praises. We can communicate with the Lord directly. God is always close and accessible. Second, prayer creates a relationship between us and the Lord. Through prayer, we grow in our relationship with Jesus but also with one another. Lastly, prayer connects us as Christians. It creates unity – going to the same spot, our Lord in prayer. Prayer is never unappreciated when support is needed from brothers and sisters in Christ.
Have you ever met a person that feels uncomfortable praying in front of others? White learning to pray doesn’t necessarily relieve stage fright, having a template for prayers can make anyone (young and old) understand how to pray. The five-finger method is great for teaching kids to pray but it also is a roadmap on how to pray for adults.
What is the 5 Finger Prayer method?
The five-finger prayer method gives kids a prayer template format of how to pray. It’s an easy and simple prayer method for kinesthetic learners and those that like structure. In addition to kids, it can be used as prayer model for adults.
The five finger prayer uses all the appendages on the hand from the pinky finger to the thumb finger. It focuses on 5 essential pieces of prayer…
- Giving praise to God
- Offering thanksgiving
- Praying for Others
- Asking for forgiveness
- Prayer requests
This can be displayed in the Our Father prayer method…
Our Father, Who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name;
Thy kingdom come;
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
The Lord’s Prayer appears in two different parts of the New Testament: Luke 11:2–4 (a shorter version) and Matthew 6:9–13 (a longer version).
The parts of the Our Father prayer create the parts of the 5 finger prayer.
- Giving praise to God – hallowed be Thy name
- Offering thanksgiving – the attitude of the prayer
- Praying for Others – give us this day our daily bread
- Asking for forgiveness – forgive our trespasses
- Prayer requests – give us this day our daily bread
While some might consider these parts a stretch from the Lord’s Prayer as an example of prayer, there are many places in the bible where God teaches us about praise and adorations, thanking the Lord for the things we have, praying for others, asking forgiveness, and asking for petitions.
Let’s take a look at examples of the five-finger prayer and Bible verses that support this type of prayer. Lastly, let’s learn how to use our hands to pray in both submission and reverence but also as a prayer template for kids and adults.
What are good 5 Finger Prayer examples?
There are different models for the five finger prayer. In this example, we are going to focus on 5 main things – praise, thanksgiving, others, forgiveness, and supplication. You can start with the pinky and move toward the thumb in this five finger prayer model for kids.
Pinky Finger – Adoration
The pinky finger can be used to praise God!
Bible Verses
Bible verses about praising God.
1 Chronicles 29:11-13 “Greatness, power, glory, victory, and honor belong to you because everything in heaven and on earth belongs to you! The kingdom belongs to you, Lord! You are the head, the Ruler over everything. Riches and honor come from you.
You rule everything. You have the power and strength in your hand! And in your hand is the power to make anyone great and powerful! Now, our God, we thank you, and we praise your glorious name!”
Psalm 146:1-2 “Praise the Lord! My soul, praise the Lord! I will praise the Lord all my life. I will sing praises to him as long as I live.”
Examples
- How wonderful you are!
- Lord and creator…
- Lord God, you are a healer.
- I praise you for your greatness.
- God, you are supremely good.
- Lord, you made the heavens and the earth.
- Father God, you are all-knowing.
- Lord, your love for us is so great that you sent Jesus to die for our sins.
- Lord, you are all-powerful.
Ring Finger – Thanksgiving
The ring finger can be used to thank God!
Bible Verses
Bible verses about Thanksgiving.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “Always be full of joy. Never stop praying. Whatever happens, always be thankful. This is how God wants you to live in Christ Jesus.”
Ephesians 5:20 “Always give thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Examples
- Thank you for the sky and the birds and beautiful clouds.
- Thank you for your health and healing.
- Thank you for a good day at school.
- Thank you for my cousins I enjoy playing with.
- Thank you for my best friend
- Thank you for a new bike.
- Thank you for police and firemen.
- Thank you for my stuffed animal.
- Thank you for my family.
- Thank you for snow.
- Thank you for a visit to the beach.
Middle Finger – Intercession
The middle finger can be used as intercession to pray for others!
Bible Verses
Bible verses about praying for others.
Ephesians 6:18-19 “Pray in the Spirit at all times. Pray with all kinds of prayers, and ask for everything you need. To do this you must always be ready. Never give up. Always pray for all of God’s people. Also pray for me—that when I speak, God will give me words so that I can tell the secret truth about the Good News without fear.”
Colossians 4:12 “Epaphras, another servant of Jesus Christ from your group, sends his greetings. He constantly struggles for you in prayer. He prays that you will grow to be spiritually mature and have everything that God wants for you.”
Examples
- Lord, please be with (insert name) who is feeling sad.
- Father God, please be with (insert name) who does not know you.
- I pray for (insert name) who is sick in the hospital.
- I pray for comfort for (insert name) who just lost their grandfather.
- Jesus, give comfort to my aunt who lost her dog.
- Jesus, please be a friend to (insert name) who is feeling lonely.
- Father, I pray you protect (insert name) who is traveling in an unsafe country.
- Lord, I ask that patience with (insert name) who is not being kind to me at school.
- Jesus, protect the military, members, local leaders, and leaders of our country.
Index Finger – Forgiveness
The pointer finger can be used to ask forgiveness and confess those things that separate you from God.
Bible Verses
These bible verses speak of the forgiveness of God when we confess our sins.
Proverbs 28:13 “Whoever hides their sins will not be successful, but whoever confesses their sins and stops doing wrong will receive mercy.”
1 John 1:9 “But if we confess our sins, God will forgive us. We can trust God to do this. He always does what is right. He will make us clean from all the wrong things we have done.”
Examples
- Father God, please forgive me for hitting my brother.
- Lord, I ask forgiveness for not spending time in the word today.
- God, please forgive me for losing patience tonight at the dinner table with my family.
- Jesus, please forgive me for yelling when I was angry.
- God, forgive me for using unkind words with my friend today at school.
- Please forgive me, God, for not showing love to my siblings today when we played LEGOs.
Thumb Finger – Petition
Lastly, use your thumb finger as prayer requests of petitions. Use the last finger to ask God for your own needs and prayer requests.
Bible Verses
Petition Bible verse examples about requests to God.
Philippians 4:6 “Don’t worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks for what you have.”
1 Samuel 1:27 ” I prayed for this child, and the Lord answered my prayer. He gave me this child.”
1 John 5: 14-15 “We can come to God with no doubts. This means that when we ask God for things (and those things agree with what God wants for us), God cares about what we say. 15 He listens to us every time we ask him. So we know that he gives us whatever we ask from him.”
Examples
- Father God, please provide me with health and heal my cold.
- Lord, I pray for kind friends.
- Jesus, please give me a good day at school.
- Father, I pray for new crayons.
- Jesus, I ask for safe hands with my friends.
- Jesus, I pray we can visit Disney World.
- Lord God, I ask for a sunny day on my birthday.
- Jesus, I pray mom or dad can fix my swing.
Finally, when we lack prayer requests, remember the Lord hears our hearts. Teach kids that sometimes we don’t have the words but we can ask God to listen through and to our heart.
*Bible verses are in easy-to-read version (ERV.)
Five Finger Prayer Printable
Do you want a copy of this prayer method for kids? Print the five-finger prayer worksheet and use it in many places. This printable set comes with multiple ways for the kids to interact.
- Draw an example
- Write an example
- Draw and/or write an example
You decide what five-finger prayer PDF is best for your audience.
Where can you use the printable five finger prayer worksheet?
There are different places you can use the five finger prayer with kids. We primarily use this simple prayer method in our home for nighttime prayer with kids but take ea look at all of these places that this worksheet is resourceful.
- Sunday school
- Bible study
- Youth groups
- Devotional with kids
- Kids praise and worship
- Family prayer
- Bedtime prayer
- Children’s church
Whatever the reason, grab your illustrations today of the five finger prayer method for kids.
Get the 5 Finger Prayer PDF Today!
Five Finger Prayer Cube Craft
In addition to his how-to-pray worksheet, we have created a five-finger prayer cube for those that want to extend the lesson beyond the classroom. This cube can be used at night with family prayer and is a fun Sunday School Craft for kids.
Simply print and fold to create a 3D prayer cube that can be used as a wonderful teaching tool and resource for a nightly prayer cube. The children are led through how to pray at night focusing on thanksgiving, forgiveness, request, and adoration.
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How to Print at Staples
Don’t have a printer? You can print at your local print shop or your Staples Printing Center. Watch this video for how I print my PDF documents at Staples.
Bible Verses for Kids
Take a look at these other resources for kids. These printable Christian worksheets can be used for kids in Sunday school, at Christian school, or at home.
Grab these bible verses for kids. We have printable scripture cards for kids, teens, and toddlers (of course Sunday school teachers, mom and dad too.) Pin to Pinterest.
Do you want more Sunday School activities for kids? Download and print these adorable Bible Verse Coloring Sheets. They are great for adults in a women’s bible study or for kids in Sunday morning church. Pin to Pinterest.
Want to share the Christmas story with kids at Advent? These 24 Christmas Bible Verses for Advent tell about the birth of Jesus and can be used with Elf on the Shelf or without. Pin to Pinterset.
Speaking of easy-to-read bible verses, you will want these Kids’ Easter Bible Verses for Lent or Holy Week. They tell about Jesus raising from the dead and taking away our sins when we trust in him. Insert them inside easter eggs and go on a hunt as a really cute Sunday school activity. Children can then read the verse in order at the end of the hunt – make sure to include fun Jelly beans or small candies inside. Pin to Pinterest.
Speaking of Easter, have you heard of resurrection gardens, rolls and eggs? These easy Ressurection eggs include a printable as a fun Easter egg activity for kids. Pin to Pinterest.
Our Pinterest community and I would love to see how this worked out for you. Share your printable five-finger method template with us. Leave a comment here or on Pinterest!
WHAT’S TRENDING? Looking for a few engaging activities? Grab Minute to Win it Games – Traditional, Christmas, Friendsgiving, Thanksgiving, and more! Use these fun activities in the office, classroom, or at your next party.
Last Updated on August 4, 2023 by Ashley at Frugal Coupon Living
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