How can I explain prayer to my children? You may have asked yourself that question. Figuring out where to start can be a bit overwhelming. Here are seven simple truths to help your kids understand the basics of prayer. These simple truths can be woven into your everyday lives. After each truth, I included sample dialogues for you to share with your kids.
1. Prayer is talking to God.
Dialogue:
God made us, and He loves us so much!
The Bible, which is full of God’s words, says that God is sitting up in Heaven on His throne, but He can hear us way down here on earth. (You can point up to the sky).
God has BIG ears! He can hear everything we say!
(You can buy some silly ears here.)
The Bible also says that God bends down to listen to our prayers. (Psalm 116:2)
God loves it when we talk to Him, and He always hears our prayers.
Here is a cute finger play that I learned at Bible Study Fellowship that helps kids understand that God is always listening:
God is listening
God is listening
To each word I say.
He will hear me.
He will hear me.
Every time I pray.
Heres' a short video showing you the motions:
Also, here's a free graphic you can download and print to remind you about this finger play:
1. We can pray anywhere and anytime!
Dialogue:
We can talk to God anytime and anywhere.
We can talk to God in the bathtub.
We can talk to God at the dinner table.
We can talk to God in the car.
We can talk to God in an airplane.
We can talk to God in the morning.
We can talk to God right before we go to sleep at night.
We can talk to God anytime, day or night.
1. If we don’t know what to say to God, He can help us.
Dialogue:
You can ask God to help you when you pray, and He will.
God loves it when we talk to Him, and He knows us so well that our prayers don’t have to be perfect.
2. We can use the Bible to talk to God.
Dialogue:
God’s words are in the Bible, and when we read them, we know God better.
We can use the words in the Bible to learn about God, and pray those words back to God.
The Psalms are a book of the Bible especially made for prayer.
3. Prayer is an important part of a relationship with God.
Dialogue:
Imagine if your mom and dad stopped talking to you. That would be sad!
Talking is an important part of a relationship.
Talking to God helps us know Him better and grow closer to Him.
4. You can tell God anything!
Dialogue:
If you had a bad day at school, you can talk to God about that.
If you are happy, you can talk to God about that.
If you made a wrong choice, you can talk to God about that.
You can tell God anything.
5. Jesus prayed too, and he gave us a great example of how to pray:
I love how the International Children’s Bible translates the Lord’s Prayer!
Read the Lord’s Prayer with your kids:
So when you pray, you should pray like this:
‘Our Father in heaven, we pray that your name will always be kept holy. We pray that your kingdom will come. We pray that what you want will be done, here on earth as it is in heaven. Give us the food we need for each day. Forgive the sins we have done, just as we have forgiven those who did wrong to us. And do not cause us to be tested; but save us from the Evil One.’ [The kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours forever. Amen.]
Matthew 6:9-13 (ICB)
These basics will help lay a solid foundation of understanding prayer with your children.
To go deeper with older preschoolers, I created a great resource that teaches kids to identify the attributes of God in the Psalms and then pray them back to God through praises, thanks, requests, and confession, titled Psalm Prayers for Kids.
Remember that each short conversation with our kids about prayer is planting seeds that may take years to grow (1 Corinthians 3:6). It is our job to plant and water the seeds, which is an important job. However, God alone can make them grow. We get to do our part and trust God with the rest.
Blessings,
Sarah