Prayer is an important part of the walk of faith. It's also quite the foundation to friendship with Jesus.
I've found with children, growing confidence to pray is the hard part. Once they have confidence, the faith is explosive! So getting the courage bubbling is the big step, and that starts by showing them the bigness and beauty of Jesus as well as giving them some direction to start soaring towards.
I've taught children for years "The Two Ears". This is great to instill foundational truths while giving them something to do with their hands. I have them touch their ears as they say this.
Jesus hears me. He loves to hear me pray.
Jesus needs me. He uses His power in my prayers.
Then with interactive prompts we connect prayer in a playful way. This is what I call "loaves and fish". It's just simple things to start with, but as we trust the Lord we believe that the Holy Spirit will mix faith in the hearts of the children and teach them how to pray.
Here are a few simple ideas.
1.Color Category.
We write a few things to pray for in different colors. Then have them "draw" a color. That color then gives them the prayer prompt. This can be done with any category : occupations, family names, countries, scriptures, etc.
2. Clothes
As your kids are putting on their clothes they can pick a tag and see what country it was made in. Then you can pray for salvation in that nation today.
3. Prayer Scavenger Hunt
Make a list and have them go for it!
-Pray for someone with glasses.
-Find food and pray for all the chefs in the world.
-Grab a book and pray for children learning to read.
-And so forth and so on
4. "Jesus I love you more than ...."
(This is great for very young intercessors 😉). "Jesus I love you more than....
- all the chocolate chip cookies in the world!
-my favorite tractor toy.
-winning a game.
-etc.
There are SO many fun ways to engage your children in prayer. The goal for me is to get my children comfortable with talking to Jesus and for them to understand that prayer is a tool in the Kingdom! Throughout the day we are learning about the character of God, scriptures, etc. We give them language, and then we create space for them to pray! What a joy to watch this happen!
Most importantly, you keep praying! And let them hear you! They will pick up simply by listening because faith is taught by HEARING.
Let's teach the delights of prayer to the next generation! Let's teach them the power we have when we say "in Jesus name!"
Praying For You,
Abby