| ACTIVITY Ideas: (scroll down for some pages you can print too!)
Read today's scripture together from your bible! Philippians 1:1-11
Great Ways to Teach Kids to Pray by Holly Pippin
Children talk naturally with their friends and family. Wouldn't it be exciting if we could help them learn to talk to God just as easily! Getting to know God on a heart level involves talking with Him, not just learning about Him. Children talk naturally with their friends and family. Wouldn’t it be exciting if we could help them learn to talk to God just as easily! First, kids need to understand exactly what it means to "pray." Consider what you communicate to them about prayer. Do kids know that:
- God is eager to listen to us! He wants to spend time with us because He loves us.
- God will hear us anytime, anywhere. We don’t have to be sitting in church.
- We can talk to God like we talk to a friend. We don’t need to learn any “churchy” language.
- Anything is okay to talk to God about. Nothing is too big or small. God hears us when we’re sad, glad or mad.
- We can talk to God out loud or silently and in many ways: standing, sitting, kneeling, lying down.
There are a variety of prayer techniques you can use to help kids get comfortable with prayer. Here are a few ideas.
1. Pray the sentence all together at the same time, with each person filling in his or her own ending. Examples
- Lord, I praise you for ____________________.
- Jesus, help me remember your love for me when I __________________________.
- God, please help me with______________.
2. Pray as many phrases as you want—but stop before the kids lose interest. Examples: (Leader) For mountains and rivers… (Children) We thank you, God. (Leader) For trees and flowers… (Children) We thank you, God. (Leader) When we’re scared… (Children) Help us remember to pray.
3. Form a circle. The first person prays out loud, ends their prayer with “and,” and taps the person to the right. This person adds to the prayer with his or her own requests or taps the next person right away if he or she doesn’t want to pray.
4. Have kids write their prayers on paper. After they pray, they fold up the note and place them in a can or jar.
5. Have a sharing time where kids tell either the best thing that happened to them today or the worst thing. After each response, take turns having other family members either say a praise prayer or ask Jesus to help the person.
Notice the activity pages below that you can print and use (hard copies were distributed in the Drive Thru Thursday packets, and you can pick a packet up anytime from the mailbox on the ground behind the pillar outside of the Kids Wing entrance) |
