The Art of Prayer As Told by Preschoolers

Every Sunday morning I have the opportunity to pray with an adorable group of 3 - 5 year olds. During first service at my church I lead chapel for our preschoolers and teach them about the Bible. We instituted an altar call just for my kiddos to teach them how to pray. In the last few months I have learned more about prayer from them then they have from me. Here are a few of the nuggets of wisdom I’ve learned.

1. Pray without ceasing. Every week we consistently pray at the altar. Each child has the opportunity to come up to me and ask for prayer for any needs they may have. I call one little girl my “prayer warrior”. She loves to be prayed for and pray for everyone else. I will have to stop her or we will be sitting there all day listening to her pray. Let’s just say she takes “pray without ceasing” seriously. We should all strive to talk to God as much as she does! She talks about praying every morning, every night, and every meal. This is what Jesus meant when He said to pray without ceasing!
2. God can fix anything. How often do you worry about life? I am a self - proclaimed control freak and like to try to fix my problems and other people’s. It has been a journey to learn to let go and let God. Jesus says, “Turn to Him”. Last week I was at one of my preschooler’s birthday party and another one of the girls started to follow me around. She insisted on talking about how much her knees hurt. “They hurt since last night, I don’t know why they’re hurting, I wish they would stop hurting” she proceeded to say. After a minute I caught on to her hints and asked to pray for her knees. She said, “YES”! I prayed for her knees and it was an immediate recovery. Her knees never came up in conversation again that day. She knew Jesus could fix anything and truly believed it. When you believe this, your life becomes much simpler and you believe you can do anything through Christ.
3. God cares about everything. We are all taught “Jesus loves me, This I know for the Bible tells me so”. How many of us actually believe it though? How many times have you thought that a problem was too small to bring to God? That is not how a preschooler thinks. They believe God wants to hear every single thing about their life. They believe Luke 12:7 which says, "Indeed, the very head of your hairs are all numbered". God wants to know the little details. During snack time any preschooler that would like to pray over their food gets the opportunity to pray. Let’s just say our prayer for snack can take up to 10 minutes some days! One little boy talked to God about his day, what he ate, what he wore, how he was feeling, where he would be going for the day, and how he liked his food. That sounds silly to us but the reality is all of these things are music to God’s ears.

The Bible says:

Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these”. - Mark 10:14

Jesus knew that little children came to Him with unprecedented faith and innocence. That is how He wishes us to approach Him. Seek God in all days, in all times, and in all ways. He is a best friend who delights in your words and your life. Follow the example of these children and seek God with child-like faith.