Springtime of Prayers

Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, the children’s team would encourage GA, RA, and CA leaders to focus on encouraging children to pray for workers, their community, and their families. Consider using some of these prayer ideas to share with children and families as you reach out them during this time.

Enhance your prayertimes by using one or more of these ideas:

Pot of Prayers—Provide a small clay pot in which you will place prayer requests on “petals” of a flower (use multiple colors). Write several so that each child will have at least four petals. Distribute craft sticks or chenille stems on which to tape the petals. Children may pray silently for the requests on the flower or pray in small groups. Allow children to take the flowers home to pray each day.

Packets of Prayer—Before the meeting, cut 8.5-by-1-inch sheets of paper into 4 long strips. Also, have available small pieces of paper (2-by-3 inches) and a packet of any type of seeds. Provide markers and glue, tape, or staplers. Guide children to fold the paper in half to form a “seed packet” and decorate the outside of the packet. Instruct children to glue a seed to the small paper and write a prayer request from the session. Guide children to say a sentence prayer as they pack the seeds.

Rock of Prayers—Before the meeting, gather and write prayer requests on small, smooth rocks. Cover each rock with a plastic bag that has been stretched, twisted, and wrapped around the rock to resemble a soccer ball. Tape the bags in place. Place them in a small pile in the meeting area. At prayertime, invite children to choose a “ball/rock.” Lead children to read the requests and ask for volunteers to lead the group in prayer.

Prayers of Perseverance—Before the meeting, prepare a small obstacle course on a tabletop (a pencil, a book, a rock, a cup, etc.). Purchase a small practice golf ball for each child, and write on each ball an obstacle that a missionary might face in everyday service. Upon arrival, give each child one of the balls, and ask him or her to blow the ball around to the end of the obstacle course. No hands may be used. Regroup and share. Ask: How did you feel as you tried to get the ball through the course? Do you have obstacles similar to the missionaries? How might you overcome those obstacles? Invite children to say sentence prayers for the missionaries and themselves. Suggest that children put the ball in a special place at home so they can see it each day. It can serve as a reminder to pray for the missionaries and themselves each day.

By Judith K. Moore