Readers Theaters: Prayer

By Sofia Lykes 2013

The Story of Hannah Parts: Narrator 1 Narrator 2 Elkanah

Hannah

Eli

Narrator 1: Many years ago, the Old Testament tells us the story of great faith and prayer. Narrator 2: In the Book of 1st Samuel we learn there was a man named Elkanah who had a wife named Hannah. Elkanah: We must go to the Tabernacle of The Lord to offer sacrifice and worship. Hannah: (silently crying) Narrator 1: Hannah loved Heavenly Father. She worshipped Him with all her heart. Narrator 2: Hannah could not have children though. Elkanah: Hannah, why weepest thou? And why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons?1 Narrator 1: Hannah loved her husband very much. She also wanted a child very much. She vowed a vow to The Lord while she worshipped at the temple. Hannah: O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.2 Narrator 2: I guess no mohawks for Samuel! Narrator 1: Or a buzz cut! Now as Hannah prayed, she prayed in her heart and only moved her lips.
1 2

1 Samuel 1:8 1 Samuel 1:11

Narrator 1: Her voice was not heard and a priest named Eli at the temple thought she was drunken! Eli: How long wilt thou be drunken? Put away thy wine from thee.3 Hannah: No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD.For out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto.4 Eli: Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him.5 Narrator 1: Heavenly Father heard Hannahs prayer and blessed her because of her faith. Narrator 2: Hannah was no longer sad and when she returned home, later she had a son. She named him Samuel which means God has heard.6 Narrator 1: Hannah kept her promise and when Samuel was older, she returned to the temple with him. She prayed. Hannah: (with feeling) Oh my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the Lord. For this child I prayed; and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of him: Therefore also I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord. My heart rejoiceth in the Lord, mine horn is exalted in the Lord: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation. There is none holy as the Lord: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.7

3 4

1 Samuel 1:14 1 Samuel 1:15-16 5 1 Samuel 1:17 6 1 Samuel 1:20 7 1 Samuel 1:26-28, 2:1-2

The Story of Samuels Prayers Parts: Narrator 1 Narrator 2 Narrator 3 Children of Israel Samuel Narrator 1: Samuel was the miracle son of Hannah and Elkanah in ancient Bible times. Narrator 2: When he was a small child, he was given to the service of the Lord to fulfill his mothers promise. He lived at the tabernacle with a priest named Eli. Narrator 3: At a very young age, he was called to be a prophet of God. Narrator 1: As Samuel grew older, his prayers were very important to helping the children of Israel. Narrator 2: One time the enemy army of Philistines came to attack the children of Israel. They cried to Samuel Children of Israel: Cease not to cry unto the Lord our God for us, that he will save us8 Samuel: I will pray for you unto to The Lord.9 Narrator 3: The Lord heard the cry of his faithful servant and a miracle happened! Great thunders from the sky confused the enemy Philistines and they were smitten! Narrator 1: Samuel grew older and served The Lords people all his days. Narrator 2: Sometimes the children of Israel listened, sometimes they did not. They greatly desired a King when they should have trusted in the Lord, their God, their King.10 Narrator 3: On the day they were to be given their earthly King, a great rain and thunderstorm arose.

8 9

1 Samuel 7:8 1 Samuel 7:5 10 1 Samuel 12:12

Children of Israel: Pray for thy servants unto The Lord thy God, that we die not!11 Samuel: God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right away: Only fear the Lord, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you.12 Narrator 1: The children of Israel did not die that day. Narrator 2: In fact, because Samuel prayed so often and faithfully, we have many important things written that The Lord wants us to know! Narrator 3: Because of Samuels prayer we know that, To obey is better than sacrifice.13 Samuel: The Lord told this important lesson when I was searching for the new King of Israel. I had prayed a lot and I was led to a very small shepherd boy, For the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance,
but the LORD looketh on the heart. Narrator 1: That small boy, David, later defeated a giant named Goliath! Narrator 2: Kind of like prayer! Prayer may be a small thing but great big things can happen when we do so! Narrator 3: Im so grateful to have learned from the prayers of Samuel!

11 12

1 Samuel 12:19 1 Samuel 12:23-24 13 1 Samuel 15:22

The Story of Jared and His Brother Parts: Narrator 1 Narrator 2 Narrator 3

Jared Brother of Jared

Narrator 1: A long time ago, the bible tells the story of some people who thought they could get to heaven by building a tower. Narrator 2: That would take a lot of wood and nails! Narrator 3: It sure would! The Lord was saddened by the peoples wickedness and confounded their language. Narrator 2: What does confounded mean? Narrator 1: Confounded means that He made it so no one could understand each other. He made them speak all sorts of different languages. Narrator 2: I see, but wasnt there a family in the Book of Mormon whose language wasnt confounded? Narrator 3: There sure was!! Jared: My name is Jared and my story is told in the Book of Ether. I saw the wickedness around me and asked my brother to pray for us. Narrator 2: Jareds brother prayed and they were blessed. Their family and even some of their friends could still understand each other. Jared: I asked my brother to again pray to The Lord to see whether we needed to leave the land. Narrator 1: The Lord told the brother of Jared that they did need to leave the land! They would be led to a choice land of promise. The Lord told him, And thus I will do unto thee because this long time ye have cried unto me.14 Narrator 2: Wow! Prayer can really lead to good things! Narrator 3: It sure can, but you have to remember to do it. Brother of Jared: We were in a valley for 4 years preparing to sail to the promised land when The Lord came to me and stood in a cloud. He spoke to me for 3 hours and

14

Ether 1:43

chastened me because I had forgotten to call upon his name in prayer. I quickly repented and learned my lesson!15 Jared: We build the barges The Lord commanded and were ready to set sail when my brother made a good point. Brother of Jared: How are we going to cross the waters without light? Maybe I should say another prayer!! Narrator 1: The Lord answered the Brother of Jared, What will ye that I should do that ye may have light in your vessels? For behold, ye cannot have windows for they will be dashed in pieces; neither shall ye take fire with you, for ye shall not go by the light of fire.16 Narrator 2: Sometimes The Lord doesnt answer our prayers the way we think He will. It sure would have been easy if The Lord tossed them some flashlights!! Brother of Jared: I brought 16 stones, white and clear, and cried and prayed to The Lord again that He would touch the stones and that they would be a light for us. Narrator 3: The Brother of Jareds faith was so great that he saw the finger of The Lord touch the stones. His prayer had been answered and nothing could be held back. The Lord showed himself to the Brother of Jared and testified that He would come into the world and save it. Narrator 2: The Lord said, Behold, I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the Son. In me shall all mankind have life, and that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name; and they shall become my sons and my daughters.17 Brother of Jared: Truly, the power of prayer is great!!

15 16

Ether 2:14 Ether 2:23 17 Ether 3:14

Thats Not How You Pray!!! Parts: Narrator 1 Narrator 2

Narrator 3

Zoramite

Hypocrite

Moses

Narrator 1: The scriptures are full of great examples of prayer. Narrator 2: The scriptures are also full of some pretty crazy and wicked examples of prayer. Narrator 3: In this readers theater, we will go over the ways NOT to pray!! Narrator 1: In the Book of Mormon, we see Alma and his buddies, the sons of Mosiah, go to a land where there were many Zoramites. Narrator 2: These Zoramites had the word of God preached to them and knew the gospel, but they didnt care! Narrator 3: They didnt want to follow the commandments, they wanted to do their own thing including prayer!! Zoramite: Im better than everyone else. Id tell you how much better than everyone else I am, but today is worship day and I need to get to the tower Rameumpton. (climbs on a small chair and stands with hands up) Holy Spirit we know that we are awesome. We re better than our brethren. Were better than the most super cool person ever because were that great. We know we are chosen and better than others so thank you. The End. Okay, time to party for the rest of the week! Narrator 1 & 2: Woah. Narrator 3: That was a pretty bad prayer. We should never be prideful in our prayers and we shouldnt just pray once a week!! Narrator 1: In the Bible, Jesus told his disciples that many people just prayed to be heard by other people. Hypocrite: Standing on the street corner I want all to know how truly, truly, truly, truly, truly humble I am praying to The Father. Do you all see me? Im praying because I just am truly, truly, truly, truly a wonderful person. Narrator 2: Jesus said, But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly18

18

Matthew 6:6

Narrator 3: Does that mean I should always pray in secret? Narrator 1: There are many times when we say prayers out loud and in front of others, but we should also make lots of time to pray when no one is watching. Narrator 2: Boy did that hypocrite say truly enough times? Talk about repetition!19 Narrator 1: Many times, words of prayers will be said over and over again without any thought. This ISNT what prayer should be like. Prayers can be simple, they just need to be heartfelt! Moses: And please dont be like the children of Israel that I led out of Egypt! I came down from a mountain once and found them praying to a golden calf!!20 Narrator 3: Oh Moses! You must have been so sad! Moses: When I prayed, I saw Jesus face to face. Prayer is worship. Prayer is being humble. Prayer is calling on Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ. NOT A GOLDEN CALF! Narrator 2: You know, sometimes Im so tired. Do I really need to pray all the time? Narrator 1: Nephi told, If ye would hearken unto the Spirit which teacheth a man to pray, ye would know that ye must pray; for the evil spirit teacheth not a man to pray, but teacheth him that he must not pray.21 Narrator 3: So even if you dont feel like it, you should always pray!! Narrator 2: The scriptures are full of good examples of prayer and bad examples!! Im grateful to learn from both so that I can make sure my prayers are always heartfelt.

19 20

Matthew 6:7 Exodus 32 21 2 Nephi 32:8