PRAYERS FOR PEOPLE: Teaching Your Children to Pray for Others

patmaier24
2 days ago
3 min read

A recent addition to the prayer resources offered in the Visual Faith® Ministry Shoppe is a collection of prayer cards entitled "Pray for People Prayer Cards."

A 'go-to' Scripture verse for many Christian parents is Proverbs 22:6 (ESV) - "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." The NIV version says it this way - "Start your children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it." As parents, God directs us to teach our children about the world, our need for salvation, His grace and mercy, and the amazing love of Jesus. We understand, as the Apostle Paul encourages, the need to "pray continually" and desire to teach our children how to pray.

We teach them to talk to God through prayers at mealtime and bedtime, that you can pray anytime and anywhere, and that prayers can also be lifted up through songs - but we also want to be purposeful about teaching them who they might pray for and the privilege it is to pray for others. Quite honestly, sometimes it's hard to put into simple words the complex needs of those around us.

The "Pray For People Prayer Cards" features 11 situational prayer cards written in the language of children and anchored in Scripture. These can be applicable to all children, but the words are especially chosen for the very young. These were also created with the knowledge that sometimes we all need help with words, especially if we are new to the faith or are just beginning to figure out how a prayer life works.

The cards are colorful and child-friendly. Each card includes a heading to remind children that their prayers are important, and that they can pray for people who are older, or who feel sad, or who need a friend. Praying for others teaches empathy, Christian caring, eyes to see others, and gratefulness for the blessings in their own lives.

When our team was working on this project, I reached out to my daughter Shae, the mom of a three year old, and asked her to look at our prompts and to add any other groups of people that she would want her son to include in his prayers. So besides the obvious prayer needs for food, healing, or learning about Jesus, we've also included cards to create awareness and acceptance as we pray for others who are unique, or who need a home, or who are without a family.

It's a simple project that takes little time: Simply copy, trim, punch, and add to an O-ring. These cards are ideal for use in the classroom, Sunday School, preschool, homeschool, and family devotional settings. You can add a brightly colored ribbon or some beads and leave on the table or on a hook as a reminder to pray.

Some ideas for using this project:

1) Flip through the cards and talk about why we can pray for each group of people. Add your own cards to the deck for other prayers specific to your family.

2) Keep these in your eating area or on a bedside table. Choose a different card each night to pray.

3) Before praying the words on a card, read the Scripture verse and talk about what it means and how it relates to the prayer. Draw a connection between God's truth and how we pray.

4) If you know specific people that fall into these categories of prayer, you might write their names on the back and pray for them by name. Print a prayer card from the Shoppe and have your child color it, add an encouraging note on the back, and give it to that person as a "gift of prayer."

5) Give this project as a gift to your child's teacher or get together with friends and make this project to send home with your child's classmates.