Resources for Discipling Children to Pray for Missions
“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace.”
—Hebrews 4:16 (ESV)
Prayer is a beautiful gift we have been given by our heavenly Father. And children’s leaders and parents have the special privilege of discipling children to pray.
We can teach children to come before God with our praise and adoration, our worries and troubles, our joys and happiness; anything and everything, without ceasing, is sent before God as an offering.
While prayer is certainly not something we are born knowing how to do, the more we practice praying — and show the children we lead how to practice — the easier prayer becomes.
As we consider our Southern Baptist missionaries, it is humbling to realize we can participate in their work through prayer, which is able to break strongholds, open doors to the gospel, and protect the vulnerable in terrible situations.
How can you help the children in your missions discipleship group (and their families) engage more in prayer, especially in prayer for our missionaries?
Resources for Discipling Children to Pray
Prayer Activities in Missions Journey: Kids Curriculum
Every weekly session plan in Missions Journey: Kids Leader includes a prayertime activity that includes prayer for the missionaries featured for the month as well as for the “Missionaries of the Week” listed in Missions Journey: Kids Adventure.
The prayertime activities are always interactive — possibly different from the way in which most children have been traditionally taught to pray. Different is good! As leaders, we want children to understand that there is no right or wrong way to come before God in prayer.
If we are to pray without ceasing, that means we may pray while eating breakfast, pray while driving our car, pray while we teach, and so forth. Children can learn how to pray in any and every situation.
Each quarterly issue of Missions Journey: Kids Leader also features a “Prayer Plan” article. This is a wonderful resource with lots of different, interactive ways to pray. You can use these ideas during sessions or make copies to send home with families. Encourage parents to pray at home with their children, so they have an opportunity to disciple their children in this practice as well. Parents can use some of the “Prayer Plan” ideas with their children to pray for the missionaries!
Missionary Prayer Calendar
WMU also offers a missionary prayer calendar that lists International Mission Board (IMB) and North American Mission Board (NAMB) missionaries on their birthdays. The missionary prayer calendar is published in Missions Mosaic, on our website at wmu.com/prayercalendar, and as a daily email. Click here to subscribe to the prayer calendar email or one of our other newsletters, including the Children’s Missions Newsletter!
You can use it to pray for our missionaries, and you can use it in your children’s group sessions so you can pray for the missionaries with children. The “Missionaries of the Week” listed in Missions Journey: Kids Adventure are a selection from the main missionary prayer calendar.
Let the families of children in your group know about the missionary prayer calendar, too, so they can also sign up for the daily email and pray.
Weeks of Prayer for North American and International Missions
The Week of Prayer for North American Missions held in March and the Week of Prayer for International Missions held in December provide special, focused time of prayer for Southern Baptist missionaries.
Prayer guides and resources are available each year for the weeks of prayer. The prayer guides for each week of prayer provide brief stories of eight missionaries, plus prayer prompts for each one. This would be a wonderful tool for families to use as a devotional each night, and to help direct their prayers in a specific, needed way.
If your church provides prayer guides for the weeks of prayer, give them to the families in your children’s group. You can also find the prayer guide for North American missions at anniearmstrong.com/resource/prayer-guide and the prayer guide for international missions at imb.org/pray/week-of-prayer.
Prayer as a Part of Missions
Melisa Argueta, whose family was featured in Missions Journey: Kids curriculum in January 2024, shared how much the prayers of all the groups meant to them:
“We were chosen as the missionaries of the month of January by [national WMU], which means that many churches are praying for us, especially women and children. It has been an amazing experience. God has encouraged our hearts in a way I couldn’t explain.”
Please continue praying for our missionaries and discipling children to pray. Please continue to equip the families you serve to pray. This is how we will continue to advance God’s kingdom!
