Four Tips for Praying with Children

One thing I love about children is how quickly they learn to pray from watching godly role models. Now granted I’ve heard some funny prayers in my time, like: “Dear God, Please help me get lots of toys for my birthday” or “Dear God, why do giraffes have such long necks?” But, they really seem to get it that we can talk to God about anything and everything, good things and bad things.

One thing I love about children is how quickly they learn to pray from watching godly role models. Now granted I’ve heard some funny prayers in my time, like: “Dear God, Please help me get lots of toys for my birthday” or “Dear God, why do giraffes have such long necks?” But, they really seem to get it that we can talk to God about anything and everything, good things and bad things.

As parents and/or children’s workers, it is critical to encourage children and help them develop their prayer lives. Here are four simple ways to do so:

Pray with them — It can feel uncomfortable to pray out loud, particularly in front of a lot of people. Often it helps young children to have a teacher pray with them. For example, you might begin by saying “Lets pray and thank God for the good things he has given us, ‘Dear God, thank you for this beautiful day and thank you for _______,” and then let the child insert something he or she is thankful for. You might also try doing pop corn style prayers, where children all call out various things that they are thankful for.

Talk about answers to prayer — It’s important to pray, but it also important to realize when and how God has answered. Don’t neglect the chance to praise God for answers to prayer. Seeing God answer will strengthen their faith and encourage them to keep praying.

Use acrostics — There are many helpful prayer acrostics for teaching about prayer. I’ve found two to be particularly useful: P.R.A.Y. (Praise, Repent, Ask, & thank You): and, A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, & Supplication). These type of prayers are excellent for helping children get out of the rut of only praying about themselves, or helping those who aren’t quite sure what to say.

Picture Prayers — Try having children draw pictures of their prayers or make “picture” prayer books. This works well for children who cannot write yet, or also for older ones who have an artistic bent. Some (including adults) pray best when they are doodling. Prayer doesn’t always have to be done the traditional “on-your-knees” way.

Whatever methods you incorporate to teach prayer, have fun! Prayer time doesn’t have to be dull. In fact, it is probably one of my favorite times in the classroom.