Teaching Children to Pray
This may not immediately seem like an idea for children, but more and more research and experience show how little space we all have in our lives and how some quiet and silence can help us connect with God.
This activity is inspired by Rachel Turner’s Parenting for a life of faith book (which I love). This idea is to cultivate a chat with God about any and everything.
I did it first with my god-daughter and her two sisters one night when I was ‘doing’ bedtime prayers, and it was a great way for us all to pray our own prayers to God. Each participant gets a cushion and finds a place in the room to sit creating a space of solitude.
One of them later told their Mum that it was great because she could say things to God that she wouldn’t have said out loud.
Prayer is chatting with God
Just pick a topic and a time – maybe start with something easy like The Best Thing That Happened Today and 30 seconds. (The length of time will vary based on your children and their age.) Then get everyone to quietly chat with God about that topic for that length of time.
Here are some topic ideas, and as always feel free to invent your own. I’ve done this where I offer the first three topics, giving a mix of silly and sensible, spiritual, emotional and factual, then open up to others taking it in turns to offer their suggestions.
- The Worst Thing About Today
- The Thing I Would Most Like To Be
- Something I Regret
- Somewhere I Would Love To Go
- My Favourite Colour
- A Person Who I Didn’t Help Today
- What I Love Doing
- My Favourite Type of Chocolate
- Where I Will Be Next Year
- Things Which Puzzle Me
What questions would you add?
