Prayer
Primary 1 · Social and Religious Studies
Prayer
Lesson 2 of 6
10 min
Let's begin
The classroom is noisy before the lesson starts.
Chairs scrape. Two boys laugh at the back.
Umutoni closes her eyes for a moment and says something in her head.
Today you will learn how people pray, loudly and silently.
People get quiet and still before they pray.
Some people kneel down. Some sit. Some stand.
Many people close their eyes or put their hands together.
There is no one right way to hold your body.
The calm is what matters. A calm body helps a calm mind.
A prayer said out loud is a loud prayer.
A prayer said inside your head is a silent prayer.
People who pray say God hears the silent one too.
So Umutoni's prayer in the noisy classroom was a real prayer.
Nobody near her heard a single word. That is fine.
Some children think a prayer only works if it is long.
Careful! That is not true at all.
A short prayer in your own words is a real prayer.
Five words count. Twenty words count.
Kinyarwanda counts. Any language a person speaks counts.
At the end of a prayer people say one word: Amen.
Amen means something like let it be so.
It tells everybody the prayer has finished.
When a family prays together, everyone says Amen at the same time.
You can say Amen out loud, or quietly inside your head.
Tip
Quiet body. Loud or silent voice
Get still first, then speak or think the words.
Nobody has to wait to be loud enough or long enough.
End with Amen, like a full stop at the end of a sentence.
Do each one, then tap Show answer to check.
What word do people say at the end of a prayer?
Answer: Amen. It closes the prayer.
Keza prays in her head on the path to school. Is that a real prayer?
Answer: yes. A silent prayer is heard just as well as a loud one.
Byiringiro thinks his prayer is too short. What would you tell him?
Answer: a short prayer in your own words is a real prayer.
Name two ways people hold their body when they pray.
Answer: kneeling and sitting. Standing and closing the eyes also count.
Sit still for the time it takes to count slowly to ten.
Answer: that stillness is how a prayer begins. It is harder than it sounds!
What you learned today
Quick check
Match each one to its name.
Tap one on the left, then its partner on the right.
