101 Ways to Pray:
| 101_ways_to_pray_2020.pdf |
Ways to Pray: wherever, whenever you like!
1. Play Dough Prayer: Children shape something that they want to say Thank you to God for, say 'thank you' aloud or in their heads and then either leave it on the table for others to see or they put the play dough back for the next person.
2. Forgiveness fizz: Get a jug of water and some effervescent tablets (AlzaSeltzer). Encourage the children to think of someone they need to forgive. Talk about how when we are hurt and angry it hurts us too, but we can ask God to help us to let go of these feelings. Put the tablet in the water and get the children to imagine asking God to help them forgive. As the bubbles start to come off the tablets, imagine giving the hurt feelings to God. The tablets take a while to dissolve, which also illustrates that sometimes it takes a long time to forgive. The water might also change color, which illustrates that it's not as if the thing that hurt you had never happened, it's just been changed by God.
3. Paper People: Cut out individual paper people freehand, or use a simple gingerbread cookie cutter. Children choose someone in their family or their friends whom they would like God to bless and then either write that person's name or draw their face onto a paper person. These people can then be placed on the refrigerator door with magnets as the children ask God to bless them, simply saying 'God bless...', or praying quietly in their head if they prefer.
4. Sharing Prayer: Draw something you like on a piece of paper, e.g. One of your toys. Rip the paper down the middle. Ask God to help you share things.
5. Toss it away: Tear off a piece of paper and write something wrong you have done on it. Ask God to forgive you for doing wrong and then scrunch it up and toss it away. God knows you’re sorry has forgiven you.
6. Lego Prayer: Using Legos or Duplos, build a house. It can be any shape or size. As you build it, think about people without homes because they have no money or jobs. Pray that God give these people houses and a life equal to what we have. Thank God for the home you live in. It doesn't have to be a house, build anything as a thanks to God for it.
7. Fridge magnets: Write things you are thankful for with fridge magnets. Occasionally, use the words on the fridge to fuel thanks prayers before a meal.
8. Colored Candy Prayer: Using M & M's, skittles or jelly beans, as each person eats the candy, they say thanks to God for something God created that is the same color.
9. Music Prayer: Talk together about what sort of music makes you happy, sad, close to God....?
10. Tapping Prayer: Make up tapping rhythms to symbolize thoughts and emotions as a way of praying. For every fourth beat you tap, say something or someone you are thankful for.
11. Listen to a piece of music. Pray for whatever it makes you think of, either silently or aloud.
12. Special Place Prayer: Find special places where it’s easy to focus on God together, e.g. a corner of the garden, snuggled together on the sofa and pray at that same spot repeatedly.
13. Candle Prayer: Have a special candle on the table that you light as you say a prayer of thanks at dinner time.
14. Family Decisions: When making a family decision such as where to go on a trip, what to buy, ask what God thinks when making that family decision and ask for God's guidance.
15. Outdoor Prayer: Use playground adventures together (climb, swing, slide etc.) to explore new ways of sensing God, or acting out Bible adventures.
16. Bible Story Prayer: Pick out a different Bible Story each night from the Spark Storybook Bible to include God in bedtime routines.
17. Gratitude Prayer: Foster the habit of thanking each other for special things, e.g. cooking my dinner, making me laugh, playing a game. You could also thank God for those things.
18. Appreciation Adventure Walk: Go on a walk in the neighborhood or local park. Encourage children to use their five senses to experience God's World. What can you smell, noises you hear? Discuss why God's world needs to be cared for, and pray for creation.
2. Forgiveness fizz: Get a jug of water and some effervescent tablets (AlzaSeltzer). Encourage the children to think of someone they need to forgive. Talk about how when we are hurt and angry it hurts us too, but we can ask God to help us to let go of these feelings. Put the tablet in the water and get the children to imagine asking God to help them forgive. As the bubbles start to come off the tablets, imagine giving the hurt feelings to God. The tablets take a while to dissolve, which also illustrates that sometimes it takes a long time to forgive. The water might also change color, which illustrates that it's not as if the thing that hurt you had never happened, it's just been changed by God.
3. Paper People: Cut out individual paper people freehand, or use a simple gingerbread cookie cutter. Children choose someone in their family or their friends whom they would like God to bless and then either write that person's name or draw their face onto a paper person. These people can then be placed on the refrigerator door with magnets as the children ask God to bless them, simply saying 'God bless...', or praying quietly in their head if they prefer.
4. Sharing Prayer: Draw something you like on a piece of paper, e.g. One of your toys. Rip the paper down the middle. Ask God to help you share things.
5. Toss it away: Tear off a piece of paper and write something wrong you have done on it. Ask God to forgive you for doing wrong and then scrunch it up and toss it away. God knows you’re sorry has forgiven you.
6. Lego Prayer: Using Legos or Duplos, build a house. It can be any shape or size. As you build it, think about people without homes because they have no money or jobs. Pray that God give these people houses and a life equal to what we have. Thank God for the home you live in. It doesn't have to be a house, build anything as a thanks to God for it.
7. Fridge magnets: Write things you are thankful for with fridge magnets. Occasionally, use the words on the fridge to fuel thanks prayers before a meal.
8. Colored Candy Prayer: Using M & M's, skittles or jelly beans, as each person eats the candy, they say thanks to God for something God created that is the same color.
9. Music Prayer: Talk together about what sort of music makes you happy, sad, close to God....?
10. Tapping Prayer: Make up tapping rhythms to symbolize thoughts and emotions as a way of praying. For every fourth beat you tap, say something or someone you are thankful for.
11. Listen to a piece of music. Pray for whatever it makes you think of, either silently or aloud.
12. Special Place Prayer: Find special places where it’s easy to focus on God together, e.g. a corner of the garden, snuggled together on the sofa and pray at that same spot repeatedly.
13. Candle Prayer: Have a special candle on the table that you light as you say a prayer of thanks at dinner time.
14. Family Decisions: When making a family decision such as where to go on a trip, what to buy, ask what God thinks when making that family decision and ask for God's guidance.
15. Outdoor Prayer: Use playground adventures together (climb, swing, slide etc.) to explore new ways of sensing God, or acting out Bible adventures.
16. Bible Story Prayer: Pick out a different Bible Story each night from the Spark Storybook Bible to include God in bedtime routines.
17. Gratitude Prayer: Foster the habit of thanking each other for special things, e.g. cooking my dinner, making me laugh, playing a game. You could also thank God for those things.
18. Appreciation Adventure Walk: Go on a walk in the neighborhood or local park. Encourage children to use their five senses to experience God's World. What can you smell, noises you hear? Discuss why God's world needs to be cared for, and pray for creation.
