Prayer & Children
“The gift of prayer is the greatest inheritance we can give our children,” writes Denise George in Kids Can Talk to God. “By teaching them to pray, we help them develop a natural, conversational relationship with God that will grow as they mature in their faith.” Teachers and parents can model prayer by talking to God throughout their daily experiences.

Like Bible stories that are told, the prayers spoken should relate to the experiences of the child. When prayers relate to the child’s activities he comes to view prayer as an important part of his life. Find opportunities during daily activities to pray with your child. Use, short, simple sentences in prayers.

From the book:
Postmodern Children’s Ministry

The magnificent and untainted imagination of young children draws them toward the stories of the Bible. They are easily persuaded to wonder about the power, love, and mysteries of God. And they believe everything we tell them. So those of us entrusted with the soul care of young children need to work at introducing them to their loving Creator God. We need to acquaint them with God through ritual, story, community, and church tradition, helping them understand all this in a concrete and literal way.


Young children think concretely and literally. They can’t understand abstract concept unless it is continually and intentionally linked with a concrete action or object.
Remember love is abstract.

Preschoolers
Book: Postmodern Children’s Ministry

As a child moves into the later preschool years, his faith goes through a stage James Fowler describes as Intuitive-Projective. The preschool child lives in a world of unrestrained imagination. He has very little concept of the logic of things and the world around him. These two aspects of the child’s intellectual and affective development greatly influence his spiritual development. The stories, symbols, and gestures of faith form long-lasting emotional impressions that can have an almost indelible imprint on the child’s later understanding of faith, God, and spirituality. Exposing children to the history and rhythms of the church year, the rituals of worship and community, and the stories of God’s redemptive work in the world and God’s specific work in our lives builds a foundation for positive faith development.