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Pr ayer Tool s f or Chi l dr en

Angie Clark

We all know that teaching children to pray is a good idea. But is it absolutely necessary for a
childs spiritual development? If so, some of the questions are: 1) What works?, 2) How old do they
have to be?, 3) Is there curriculum to follow?, and 4) Do I have to be a prayer warrior to teach
children to pray? *Live Demonstration of Tools and additional handouts in seminar.

I . Pr ec edent i n Sc r i pt ur e

A. Luke 18:16-17 (NLT) Let the children come to me. Dont stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to
such as these. I assure you, anyone who doesnt have their kind of faith will never get into the Kingdom of
God.
B. Bible Character Review
1) Praise =David I Samuel 17
2) Prophetic =J eremiah J eremiah 1:4-19
3) Steadfast =Daniel Daniel 1-2
4) Leadership =Samuel I Samuel 2:35
C. Bible Prophecy Joel 2:28-29
I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream
dreams. Your young men will see visions. In those days, I will pour out my Spirit even on servants, men and
women alike.
D. The Great Eight Scriptures to help establish a kids prayer ministry mentality.

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I I . A Change of Hear t

Before we can teach children to pray, we have to change our minds about the children we intend to teach. We must
1) cultivate their relationship with God, 2) partner with them in prayer, and 3) cultivate a world vision in themand
ourselves. [Cheri Fuller, When Children Pray]

I I I . What Wor k s?

A. Missions Emphasis Prayer
1) This type of praying is a great fist step and can be taught to younger children, as small as 3-4 years old, as well
as children in upper elementary.
2) It allows young children who are in the ego-centric developmental stages to show their concern for others and
develop their skills in empathy.
3) Developing their world vision when they are young empowers their sensitivity in later years.
4) Their prayers for the harvest, being real, will have an effect known in eternityand sometimes here on earth.
5) There are many tools to choose from. (See Resource Listing)
B. Scripture Praying Shekinah Kids
1) Praying Gods eternal words back to Him is extremely powerful.
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Pr ayer Tool s f or Chi l dr en
Angie Clark

2) If we learn to pray using Scripture, it takes the pressure off of us to perform or say all the right things.
3) This kind of prayer can also be taught to younger children, but as a curriculum, could be a phase two of
prayer growth after Missions Emphasis prayer training.
4) Start with children who can read and write; grades 3-4 or 4-5 work best.
5) There is curriculum available.
C. Constant Effort to Improve and Adapt to the Childrens Needs
No one tool or set of tools will work with all groups of children. Keeping your mind and heart open for more
information, newer tools, greater understanding, etc., is extremely important. Dont be surprised if your burden
grows and your skills as a prayerful person expand.

I V. Fac i l i t at i ng Thei r Fai t h w i t h Oppor t uni t y and Sensi t i vi t y t o t he Hol y Spi r i t

A. Jonathan Graf, Editor of Pray!Kids Magazine, believes that children need to pray for needs that they can see as
well as global needs of others. They need to see God answer prayers to build their faith. Young children have a
propensity to trust God and His Word, when its proven true, it affects them deeply.
B. Victory Church Childrens Prayer Leader, Tulsa-OK, has experience in facilitating children who pray. She
explains that her duty as their teacher is to simply, bring them to J esus and He takes it from there. Her prayer
group has participated in State events as well as national prayer events held in Washington D. C. Victory Kids was
started by her, a housewife, because she simply saw a need and acquired a burden to do something about it.



V. Resour c e Li st i ng/Tool s
*SAMPLES AVAI LABLE I N SEMINAR WITH LI VE DEMONSTRATION

MI SSI ONS EMPHASI S
A. Beach Ball Globe Toss it to students while saying, Catch the Vision. Wherever a students finger (choose one)
lands, that is the country they pray for. If they dont know what to pray for, they could use a prayer spinner (below)
or look up the country in a resource book (below). Oriental Trading Co. =$1.50
B. Squishy Globe Excellent tool for small children. As they pray, they can hug the world by squeezing the ball.
Oriental Trading Co. =$2.00
C. Fabric Hugging Globe Available in small and large sizes, these are perfect for hugging and teaching. Available
from Rand McNally stores or online. Rand McNally =$19, $24
D. Globe Shower Curtain Put this on the floor and let students travel to different countries and pray for different
regional or specific country needs. Caleb Project =$20
E. Prayer Spinner There are two types available. One from the Sunday School Dvision with general prayer ideas,
and another one available from Esther Network that focuses on missons ideas. Also, students can make their own
from a simple paper plate. Craft Idea! SSD =$18, Esther Network =$18
F. THUMB Cards Children can pray for the worlds least reached people groups and find out what these groups
believe as well as have five scripture prayers for each people group printed for their convenience. Excellent material
from the Caleb Project. Caleb Project =$3/pack.
G. Window on the World geography book especially designed to work in tandem with the missions emphasis prayer
and globes. It contains a two-page spread for each country complete with pictures of children and adults, stories
about their customs, etc., and a praise & prayer request section. FMD/Caleb Project =$18-$20

GENERAL PRAYER I DEAS & MOTI VATORS
H. The Praying Family Good for family prayer times/devotions, but very easily adaptable for church settings.
WNOP =$12
I. The Whole Armour of God Written by Fredi Trammell, a UPCI retired pastors wife with years of experience
teaching children to pray. Very good. WAP =$8
J . When Children Pray Written by Cheri Fuller, it is packed full of examples of children who have had prayers
answered. It also has much instructional information for teachers and parents who want to raise up praying children.
WNOP =$____
K. Pray!Kids Magazine these excellent magazines are affordable in packs of 10 or are included free with a
subscription to Pray! Magazine.

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Pr ayer Tool s f or Chi l dr en
Angie Clark

PRAYER CURRI CULUMS
L. The Shekinah Kids Revolution Written by a childrens prayer teacher who couldnt find a solid curriculum for
her class. It is written for 3
rd
-4
th
graders, but can be used for upper elementary students as well. Full of all the
materials you need to get started and ideas to keep you going. The author, MLinda Barns, will happily keep you
supplied with new material as it is developed and is happy to hear ideas from those who have purchased the
curriculum. SSD =$60.
M. Growing Up Prayerful Prayer mentors starter kit. Includes ideas for how to start a prayer ministry with kids,
incorporating kids prayer into other ministries, designing community prayer events for kids, and various other
insightful helps. WNOP =$20.

RELATED WEBSI TES
www.kidsprayer.com underwritten by the World Network of Prayer, this site has two entrances; one for kids and
one for grown-ups. The kids side is full of pictures, ideas, and prayer requests. The grown-ups side is growing
monthly, adding articles, a listing of resources, ideas, and various mentor-friendly information and helps.

www.praykids.com site for Pray!Kids Magazine tons of teaching aids! Excellent topics, games, ideas, etc.

www.calebproject.org easy purchase of globes, THUMB cards, Window on the World, the globe shower curtain
and updated missions info.

www.kidsinministry.com good material for teachers, testimonies of other prayer groups, and info/history about
kids and prayer movements, etc.

www.wnop.org website of the UPCIs World Network Of Prayer

http://surf.to/kidspray - The Childrens Prayer Network, based out of Australia, this site has tons of photos and ideas
that work!

http://pptkids.org/members.php - Presidential Prayer Team for Kids very good sitelots of national prayer ideas.