Things Would Start to Feel Ok Again
It is then important that we encourage kids to pray. They tin can exist pretty loud, yes. And it can seem like they never give you lot enough quiet to teach your lesson or take a moment to be silent.
And, yet, when nosotros ask them to pray, sometimes they are at a loss for words.
That tin feel awkward! Giving them tools and language for prayer tin can assist information technology feel less scary.
How can we aid our kids take conviction in approaching God, and assure them they are heard in this conversation with God?
There is a chat I have every twenty-four hours with each of my kids. It always begins with, "What did yous do at schoolhouse today?" I inquire my kids these questions because I genuinely want to know the expert, the bad, and the ugly.
I have an intimate relationship with my kids, so they feel pretty prophylactic telling me things that went well and things that didn't go so well. We hash out all those things in our daily conversations.
Pedagogy Children to Confidently Pray
While almost every kid is comfortable in a conversation like that one, they might feel like they don't have the right words to talk to God. They might feel like they don't have a close enough relationship with God to be able to have a conversation with Him.
They may have an unhealthy fearfulness of God or just be afraid that they might say the wrong affair.
Kids may not understand that prayer is only a conversation with God—just like that daily conversation with a parent. God wants to be shut to them and take an intimate and safe, trust-based human relationship with them!
That'due south why teaching kids in means they learn is and so important.
We both listen and talk when nosotros have a conversation people. Taking time to both listen to God and talk to God is important too.
Talking to God reminds us that He is in control, He loves us, and He wants to be close to united states of america. Information technology'south all part of us having a relationship with Him.
Most kids who struggle with prayer question if they are being heard or if they have annihilation worth saying.
one John v:14 says, "This is the conviction nosotros have in approaching God: that if nosotros enquire anything according to his will, he hears us."
How tin we help our kids take confidence in approaching God? How can we assure them they are heard in this chat with God?
Hither are 11 ideas for pedagogy the children you influence how to confidently pray! (And here's 5 things to avoid!)
C.H.A.T. with God
We like to use the acronym C.H.A.T. to assist our elementary aged kids learn more about prayer. It reminds them that it is not a scary thing—information technology's a chat with God!
C Stands for Confession
Confession is when we tell God how we have sinned—the means we take turned abroad from following Him.
By confessing to God, we show Him that we trust Him with everything. Knowing that He will still love the states no matter what we confess, volition in turn bring united states closer to Him.
Past confessing first in our prayers, we experience a closer relationship with God, and we know we tin trust Him with our requests.
H Stands for Accolade
God loves our worship. When we accolade Him with our prayers—especially after confessing—it is pleasing to Him. We declare what we know to be true about Him!
Honor statements mostly beginning with "God, you are ______." And nosotros tell Him truths we know about Him from the Bible!
A Stands for Ask
God says we tin can ask for anything in His name—and asking is usually the start matter we think of when it comes to prayer.
Asking is when we lay our requests earlier our God. This comes afterwards we have built trust in confession and recalled His attributes in honour.
Often, kids can movement to asking as well fast, which can distract from the reverent posture nosotros need to have through prayer.
T Stands for Thank
Proverb cheers to God comes quite naturally to kids. Encouraging them to end their prayers with statements of thanks should be an easy style to encourage them as they pray!
Help kids remember of things they can be thankful for. This could be annihilation from answers to asked prayers, things they see in nature, their family, and even small things that they delight in!
By breaking down the different parts of prayer, we aid kids slow downwards. So they can consider who they are talking to and why information technology is important to pray.
Prayer is a way to build human relationship with God. Encouraging kids in this volition help make them passionate about their faith.
iv Phrases for Preschoolers
Preschoolers may non fully understand the C.H.A.T. analogy. So to simplify it for them, y'all can use the phrases similar these to aid them remember how to pray:
- "I'm sorry"
- "I love you"
- "Please"
- "Thank you lot"
Put four pieces of newspaper up in your classroom infinite or home with one of those phrases listed on each.
Depending on the historic period and abilities of the kids you are working with, encourage them to draw or write their prayers on each of the papers.
For very immature kids, consider using a sticker for each paper. They tin but stick one to the page each day they pray a prayer that fits i of those phrases.
Scripture Prayer
Find a prayer that was prayed in Scripture and print it out in a big font. Lay it on a java tabular array or post it in a special identify in your home or classroom. Put markers, crayons, or highlighters nearby.
Equally kids meditate on the posted Scripture, encourage them to employ the markers to modify the pronouns to make it personal for them, or to circle words or phrases that stick out to them.
An instance is Philippians 1:9-11, "And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more than and more in knowledge and depth of insight, and so that you may be able to discern what is best and may exist pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God."
Your family might modify the "you" to your family name. Or you might insert the names of the kids in your class.
You might write the definitions of some of the words around the words or highlight phrases like "your love may abound more than and more than."
Prayer for the Exterior/Prayer for the Inside
Apply bathtub crayons or dry-erase markers to write on windows where we look outside!
Y'all can besides encourage kids to use bathtub crayons to write prayers for the people inside your firm on bathtub and shower walls. This is a identify where nosotros often spend some uninterrupted time to pray.
Encourage kids to use the bathtub crayons to write prayers for people and things outside of their homes on the windows in their homes. Then when they await outside, they are reminded of what to pray.
In the classroom, you might use dry erase markers on a board to write prayer requests within the church. And you lot can utilize the markers on the windows to write names of people your kids are praying would come to church!
Google Map Prayers
Look up the satellite view of your church building, your kids' schools, or your kids' houses.
Impress them out or laissez passer effectually your electronic device. While it is passed around the circle, each child can pray for something they encounter in the picture. They tin can pray for their home, their neighbors, their school, the church building, or even other places people gather.
Head-to-Toe Prayer
To give kids a tangible fashion to talk with God, relate topics of prayer to different parts of their bodies. Take them point to their:
- Toes: Pray they would e'er walk in God's paths and follow Him. Confess ways they might have strayed from God's path.
- Knees: Confess when they haven't knelt in prayer to God but have tried to practice things on their own. Honor God with words they might use for a King every bit you are knelt down before Him.
- Stomach: Thank God for all He provides for u.s., including our food!
- Easily: Pray for the ways they could serve people, asking God to requite them opportunities to serve neighbors and friends.
- Ears: Pray they would hear God's phonation above all others, and that they would listen to the needs of people around them.
- Rima oris: Pray they would courageously speak God's Word to those who need to hear it.
- Eyes: Pray they would seek God, and that God would give them eyes to meet other people who may need to know they are known and loved by God.
- Head: Pray they would have the "mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians 2:16) and always consider others, think pure thoughts, and not exist broken-hearted or agape. Children tin can also confess ways they may have non had the heed of Christ.
Prayer Webs
Play some tranquility music and give each child a piece of newspaper and some colored pencils or crayons. In the middle of their newspaper, instruct them to write a statement starting with "God is …"
Every bit the music plays, kids are able to quietly pray and write (or draw) nearly who God is and the requests that are on their hearts.
They might draw or write about people they can pray for or things they tin thank God for.
They tin can connect each new asking to their "God is" statement in the center using colors and different line shapes, every bit it turns into a prayer web to remind them who God is.
Sticky Note Prayers
Lay out sticky notes on a tabular array. Characterization three sections of a wall or a whiteboard with the titles "What to pray for," "Prayed for," and "Answered prayers."
Take the kids in your class or the people in your family unit to write requests on the notes, one asking per sticky notation.
Stick the notes nether the "What to pray for" title. As different people pray for each need, they tin movement the notes to the "Prayed for" section.
When the person who requested the prayer sees an answer, they are able to then motility the mucilaginous note into the "Answered prayers" heading!
Names of God Prayers
Discover a listing of the names of God that are used throughout Scripture. Come across if you can discover at least i name per letter of the alphabet, although you lot might accept to be creative with "x".
Have kids sit in a circle and take turns praying i line each, using one of the names of God on the list.
As an example, you might pray, "Calorie-free of the World, I pray that people would look to you for promise when things feel night."
"Information technology's Non Off-white" Prayer Letters
Kids can think of lots of things that seem unfair. One way to teach them how to pray prayers of lament is to have them write prayer letters to God.
Begin some things that feel unfair to them—either personal experiences or problems they know about in the world. Invite kids to pour out their "it's non fair prayers" to God in a letter, asking Him to fix it.
Explain that prayers of lament show that nosotros sympathize things aren't the fashion God intended them to be. As a issue of your explanation, kids are reminded that it's OK when we tell God that we trust Him to honey us even when nosotros don't sympathise what He is doing.
Building Prayers
Using Legos or wood blocks, write one word or phrase of different lists of things in the Bible. Examples could be the fruit of the spirit, the final instructions in 1 Thessalonians five, or Philippians four:8 (all of the "whatevers").
Build towers using those word blocks, praying for each of those things as y'all stack the next block. You might even unstack them and do information technology once more. And this time pray for some other person to feel those things.
Information technology is so important that we encourage kids to pray and give them tools and language that help prayer to feel less scary to them.
And, while educational activity kids about deeper relationship with God, don't forget about your own! Sometimes nosotros get and then adept at leading, that our own spiritual lives starts to stink.
Source: https://ministryspark.com/creative-ideas-teaching-kids-prayer/
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