Have you ever wondered how you could help to make prayer come alive for your children?

When my children were young, I wanted to incorporate the idea of “praying for others” into our bedtime routine. But how? Kids are so fidgety! A mom in my church with older children shared this idea with me, and I loved it!  As we implemented it in our home, it really seemed to help the kids look forward to prayer, and connect with “who” it was we were praying for. Read below to see what I did.

1. First, I bought a three-ring binder that had sturdy pages (think old photo album, or sturdy card stock in plastic sleeves).

2. On each page I attached a picture of someone or something that our family could pray for.

–Grandma and Grandpa,

–Aunt Kim, Uncle Matt and the cousins

–Various missionaries

–Government leaders, firefighters, police officers

–Our church–Sunday School teacher, AWANA leader, the pastor

–Friends

–Our dog

You get the idea.

3. Then, at prayer time, each member of our family got to choose and hold a page from the binder and pray for the person or thing on that page. The kids had fun choosing someone or something to pray for out of the notebook, and learned to identify community leaders, missionary families, and even distant relatives.

I hope this idea resonates with you. I am sure there are many adaptations for this idea! If you think of a good one, please share it in the comments section!