Kids’ Creative Suggestions For Prayer
Worldwide Network Of Prayer

Praying in the Park – This is a great time of year to take a group of children on a prayer walk in the park. Lead them in prayer for their city, neighborhoods, schools, friends, church, pastor, children of the world, etc. If there are people in the park, two or three of the children (with adult supervision) could approach them explaining they have gathered together for prayer and inquire if they have a special request or need for prayer. Encourage the children to pray for/with people immediately or, if they are a little shy, take the requests back to the group to be prayed over.

Ideas for Small Children – For small children, make a picture album for them to have with them during prayer time. Put pictures of family, a homeless person (symbolizing the poor), and a picture of the world. Include pictures of every day blessings to give thanks for: food, clothing, a home, etc. Their requests can also be put into picture form: grandmother, father, swing set, new bike, etc.

Picture This – One California church reports that they use photos as part of their intercessory prayer time for each other and others in need. Each person in the prayer ministry purchases a small photo album and puts pictures of people on his prayer list into the album, as well as all those in the prayer ministry group. Opposite each photo is a card with the person’s phone number and appropriate verse to use when praying for that person. Each member is encouraged to provide their own photos and a verse for other members of the group. For example, if a person is struggling with worry, he could choose one of the verses on peace.

Another option is to choose from a list of verses dealing with the fruit of the Spirit. Additional verses can be added as new needs and situations arise. During the week, group members use the photo and verse combination to pray in an insightful manner. The albums serve as a reminder to pray, and they also encourage the group to develop a sense of family.

Four Ways Adults Can Help Kids Pray

1. Let them catch you praying — at night, in the morning, at meals, when you’ve lost your temper, when you’re caught in traffic. There you might pray out loud for each member of your extended family, wherever each one may be at the time. Kids imitate us: that’s how they learn.

2. Pray with kids. Insist on a table grace, a night time prayer, a morning prayer, or a weekly or daily family devotional.

3. Create family rituals. On birthdays have prayer before you light the candles on the cake. On anniversaries, thank God out loud, in front of the kids for your partner.

4. When bad things happen, remind everyone that God can forgive and heal what we cannot.
The Five Finger Prayer

1. Your thumb is closest to you. The thumb reminds us to pray for those closest to us – our family and friends.

2. Your pointer finger, or index finger, reminds us of teachers who point things out to us. Pray for the people who teach you – pastors, teachers, children’s Church leaders, Sunday school teachers, school teachers, coaches, Girl Scout and Boy Scout leaders, etc.

3. Your middle finger is the longest, which reminds us to pray for those who are in authority over us. Try to wiggle your middle fingers without moving any other fingers. Many people can’t move them without moving any other finger. Those in authority over you (your middle finger) move other people (fingers) to do things.

4. Your ring finger is next to your little finger. It is one of your weakest fingers, so it reminds you to pray for those who are weak – the sick and the unsaved.

5. Your little finger is the smallest finger of all. It represents you. We are to think more highly of others than ourselves (the little finger); therefore, your little finger reminds you to pray for yourself. While it is important to spend time praying for others, you should also remember to pray for your own needs.

6. Your whole hand reminds you that God holds the whole world in His hand. End your prayer with praise and worship to God. So, raise your hands to God and give Him praise.

Most of the time, we pray more for ourselves than we do for others. This helping hand prayer will help you to remember who to pray for.

Missions Prayer – Cut out headlines in the newspaper and mount them on poster paper writing under each headline the name of a missionary who is working near that area.

Bible Promise for Missionaries – Give each child the name of a missionary and suggest she claim a Bible promise also list the scripture for the Bible promise. Pray that this promise might be experienced in the life of the missionary whose name you have.

Write a note – Give each child the name of a missionary and a post card or other writing paper. Ask each person to write a note of support to the missionary and to pray for that missionary each day that week.
Feature one – Find out several interesting facts about one country one state one province one missionary or one kind of missionary job and tell about what you found — then pray accordingly.

World Events – Make a list of world events and have your children pray for them. This begins to teach them not to just pray for themselves and the things that affect their busy life but to pray for the needs of others. If we can teach them to pray for the “big things” when they are small then we do not have to reprogram them when they are adults.

For School Kids – Got Prayer?
·Each day of the week, select a different prayer target or strategy:
·Pray for the people who sit to the right, left, front and back of you in every class you have today.
·Pray for your teacher in each class you have today.
·Choose an attribute of God (such as His love or mercy); thank Him for it and how He shows it to you.
·Every time the bell rings, pray for a Christian friend. Ask that your friend grows deeper in the Lord and for that person to be a light in the world by sharing about their faith in God.
·Select any topic you want and pray in whatever creative way the Lord gives.
·Pray with friends before school
·Pray with friends through pages in the yearbook (maybe one page per week).
·Do a “Jericho Walk” around your school; claim your campus for Jesus Christ.
·Have a Friday evening (or some other time) of “Pizza and Prayer;” ask a student to do a devotional and then lead the group in prayer.
·Pick a day or a meal of the week to fast and pray for your campus.
·Create a prayer web page where others could find requests and praises.
·Participate in “See You at the Pole” and keep praying at the pole once a week or once a month.
·Help your Bible study or group to create a “Prayer on a Rope.” Ask everyone to write prayer requests on a 3″ x 5″ card. Photocopy the list and bring it the next week. Put each copy individually into zip-lock bags. Tie a piece of yarn through holes you punch in the bag (above the seal) and hang the “Prayer on a Rope” in your shower. Pray for a different person each day in the shower.
·Create a Prayer Slide Show. To help your group pray, select themes such as international, nature (to praise the Lord), urban, or local high schools (include students, teachers, extracurricular groups).
·Host an Area Prayer Breakfast where teens and adults from local churches gather to pray for their teens and schools.
·Be a Prayer Traveler. Select different locations on a map to where your group should travel by carloads, and then pray. Some destinations could include high schools, local hospitals, City/County jail, local teen hangout, malls, courthouse, Congressional offices, and churches.
·Do “doorway praying” by standing at the doorway of your school and praying for every person who comes in the door.
·Design a plan to pray locker to locker for every person in your school.
·Power Words write and encouraging note with a prayer for someone on it and slip it in the slots on their locker.

Prayer Toss- Provide each youth with a blank sheet of paper. Ask them to write down a request on the paper (you may or may not include names). Crumple up the paper and on signal begin tossing them around the room. After a few seconds of tossing, ask the kids to grab the request closest to them and take a few moments to pray for that need. Then on signal, begin tossing the papers around again. Continue on for a couple of turns.

Prayer M&Ms- Bring in a couple of bags of M&Ms (or Skittles), making sure you have enough for each youth to have a small handful. Ask each one to take a small handful and wait (do not eat them yet). When everyone has some, ask them to pray for certain needs/people based on the colors they have. For example, for every red M&M, pray for an unsaved loved one. For every green M&M pray for a church leader. For every yellow one pray, for a family member. For every brown one pray for a church need, etc… if you use only two colors, ask them to list an attribute/characteristic of God for each M&M of a certain color. Then say something for which they are thankful using each M&M of the other color they have. Close by praying and emphasizing that no matter what need they have on their heart, this activity is a great reminder that God is able and willing to provide for all of our needs.

The above article, “Kids’ Creative Suggestions For Prayer” was written by Author Unknown. The article was excerpted from www.wnop.org

The material is copyrighted and should not be reprinted under any other name or author. However, this material may be freely used for personal study or research purposes.

This article may not be written by an Apostolic author, but it contains many excellent principles and concepts that can be adapted to most churches. As the old saying goes, “Eat the meat. Throw away the bones.”