Matrix Prayer:

On a whiteboard or butchers paper, draw a window shape (four boxes). At the top of each box choose a theme for prayer, some ideas are:

• Praise
• Thanks
• Sorry
• Wow
• Concern
• Care

(Use the same themes for a few weeks running so the children become accustomed to them.)

Then invite the children to contribute 2 things for each box. Once you have 8 prayer points you might like to invite four children to take a prayer area each - then you can pray the prayer with them leading. Let all the children join in with the 'Amen' at the end, explaining that 'Amen' means 'I agree'.

Using this prayer over and over again for a few weeks, familiarises the children with prayer and different things we can talk with God about. It is an easy way that they can:

a. be involved
b. own the prayer as their own
c. engage with God (you may like to get them to draw pictures of their prayer and stick them on the board).
The following week, the children will remember the themes and after a few weeks generally come to the group prepared to pray.

BIG scale Matrix Prayer for everyone:

Using the same idea as above why not make your prayer into a creative, exploratory, HUGE activity for all ages. In your hall/church, put some BIG squares of butchers paper in each corner, with paint, collage stuff, pencils, textas, etc… At each corner write in the centre of the piece of paper what it is that is being prayed for in that corner (you might also like to add some visuals though this is not necessary. For example: THANKS, you might have some happy music, some pictures of families, the environment, etc… SORRY: you might have some pictures of the world, people, some black material draped and a candle lit.)

Then all enter into a time of prayer together, adults should feel free to pray, not to instruct the children unless they ask for instructions. This is a time when leading by example works brilliantly. Everyone is free to wander around as they wish, or to stay at one corner. Let the prayers flow as they will, allowing conversation and for people to pray quietly if they wish.

Apparently I have been told this works really well and you can allocate 15-20 minutes of prayer time. Imagine that 15-20 minutes of prayer with kids!

OHP Prayer:

An Overhead Projector Prayer is a visual prayer that the children can share with the congregation. Simply give them an OHP sheet each and some pens to draw on. They can then share their prayer with the congregation by placing their prayer images on the OHP in the worship space. It can be a silent prayer if the children choose - with maybe music in the background, or the children may wish to explain their pictures. Remember prayer is conversation with God, so letting them express themselves and choose how they do this is important.

A Prayer on the Fridge:

Give the children a piece of paper and invite them to write/draw/collage:

• 4 people they are thinking about
• 3 things they like doing
• 2 things that they are sorry for, and
• 1 something that they are thankful for

This is then their prayer - they can take it home and stick it on the fridge. It can be a helpful reminder during the week. If they have a formal prayer time before bed, their parent/guardian might invite them to get their fridge prayer so that they can look at it together and pray again for those things, they can add to it as the week goes on - it is a 'moveable feast'. A prayer that the whole family can appreciate and maybe even use as a 'grace' at the dinner table one night that week.

Prayer Links (paper chains):

Prayer links are interactive, visual and changeable. Children and adults can write their prayer: one word, several, a picture, whatever relates to the theme of the prayer on their strip of paper. The paper strips can then be linked together to form a chain: thereby creating a visual sense of community.

Prayer Links can be adapted: you might use green one week to pray for the environment, and then add yellow the following week when thinking of things of praise, and then another week add orange when thinking about people who are ill in the congregation/group. Then, if these people are better by the following week you can unlink their slip of paper and add others.

A Prayer Link is fluid and is a visual reminder for children about what has been prayed for. Each week the children will remember what was the theme of prayer if it relates to colour.

A great community prayer idea that adds colour to your congregation/group.

Bags of Prayer:

I don't know if you remember 'warm fuzzy bags' - well this is a little like that concept. Get the children to each take two A4 pieces of paper and staple or sticky tape them around 3 sides, leaving a longer side open. They can then decorate their bag with their name and anything else that they want. Put these bags up around the room and invite people to drop small slips of paper in them with prayers for the children themselves, or for something that they want prayed for. The children then empty their bags at the start of the lesson/group and can stick these into a prayer journal to keep, and can add whatever other prayer issues that they might have. These can then be prayed outloud in the group or in a time of silence (play some background music) whilst the children stick their prayers into their books.

At the end of the year gift the prayer journals to the children - they will be memories that they will keep for ever.

*you will need to ensure that members of the congregation interact with this, and that leaders are careful to add prayer slips to all bags. Sometimes it is a good idea to also add visual things: an autumn leaf in autumn, etc…

One Word Prayer:

For a smaller group.

Sit in a circle, the children can look at each other (closed eyes are not required though you may wish to do this) and ask the children to contribute one word each (around a theme helps: people, things we liked doing this week, something we are sorry about, etc…) that they want to pray for.
Simple but effective.

World Prayer:

For an older group.

Laminate a map of the world (a map of your area) and ask the children to place a tea light candle on the area of the world that they are concerned about. Ask them to say why as they do so. Some children may just wish to put their candle at home and pray for parents, friends or grandparents. This prayer encourages children to think outside of their local area and themselves to the world around them.

*Correct supervision is required.

Terquain Poem Prayer

A "terquain" is a simple three lined poem about any subject. Each line states something about the subject. There are no rhymes or syllable patterns. Here is an example:

Football
Tackling, hitting
Tough!

Here is the simple pattern:
Line 1: one word subject
Line 2: two or three words describing the subject
Line 3: one word (a feeling about or synonym of the subject)

This is therefore a short prayer for children based on the Terquain Poem. This is a simple mantra type prayer that can be said over and over again. An example:

Creator God,
Amazing, Big, Kind
Happy.
Amen

Sand Tray Prayer:

A good prayer idea for whilst on Camp.

Take a scone/biscuit tray for each child, fill with a few centimetres of sand, then invite the children to draw in the sand with a stick what they wish to pray for, maybe make a collage with sticks, leaves, flowers, etc … These can be changed, wiped clean, added to, subtracted from, etc …