May
27
Written by:
host
5/27/2009 7:00 AM
A siren
A baby crying
A teacher handing out a test
Rain
A fork
Seemingly unrelated items, each one of these things could be a prayer cue. Prayer cues are reminders to pray. Teaching children about prayer cues encourages them to make prayer a part of their everyday life.
When teaching about prayer cues, remind children that prayers do not have to be long. It is great to take time to have a long conversation with God, but it is also okay to check in frequently, with a sentence or even just a word. Anytime you encounter a prayer cue, take a moment and send up a prayer.
For example:
- A siren – God, please help. (God knows who needs the help.)
- A baby crying – Thank you, God, for the gift of life.
- A teacher handing out a test – God, help me to do my best on this test.
- Rain – Creator God, thank you.
- A fork – God, please be with those who are hungry today.
Share these examples with children (or youth or adults) and then invite them to come up with their own ideas for prayer cues. For each cue, have the group think of at least one quick prayer that would be appropriate. After the class has generated a list of prayer cues, have each child choose three that they will use in the upcoming week. (Adjust the number according to the age of your group.) Follow up the next week, by asking them how it went. Did they remember to pray? How did it make them feel to stop and say a quick prayer? You could make this an ongoing prayer project by encouraging children to choose different prayer cues each week.
~Sally Hoelscher