Once kids leave your facility, it’s up to Mom and Dad, grandparents or guardians to make prayer time special at home. Like most things, most kids need to be nudged to pray but it is not difficult to make it a part of their daily routine. If you want to help the “home team” introduce their children to prayer, why not include some suggestions in the next newsletter or offer a series of prompts on your ministry’s Facebook page? Help parents make home prayer time special.
Send home prayer cards. Sometimes parents want to pray at home with kids but they don’t know what to say. Send home prayer cards so parents will have something to follow. If a child wants to pray alone, a prayer card will help him remember what to say, too.
Suggest a prayer journal. Writing out prayers is a type of prayer. Show kids some examples of prayer journaling. Parents may want to invest in gel pens, empty journals and stickers to encourage at home prayer.
Let them hear you pray. For little ones, there is no better teacher than experience. Let kids see you pray at children’s church. Show them how to talk to God, like He is right in the room. You set the example!
Keep it simple. In your instruction to parents and kids, remember to keep it simple. Long, complicated prayers “availeth” little. Remember Jesus wasn’t pro-long prayer.
Keep prayer in the schedule. Praying the blessing at meal, saying a prayer of protection before school or one last prayer before bedtime are all good ways to build a child’s relationship with God. Encourage your families to make prayer a regular part of every day life, not just an activity reserved for holidays.
Lastly, don’t be afraid to ask families to pray for you and your ministry. Giving kids a prayer focus could be just what they need to begin a conversation with the Lord.
How to Make Prayer Time Special at Home for Kids
