Devotion

“And Jesus matured, growing up in both body and spirit, blessed by both God and people.” (The Message)

Recently I heard a UMC pastor preaching on seasons in our faith lives beginning with childhood. He noted that Joseph and Mary knew the practices of their faith. They taught Jesus to pray and worship. Are we teaching our children the basics? Our children are watching us. They notice if we read our Bibles or pray.

Since April 2022, we have been exploring different ways to pray. Have you shared any with your children? We usually include them in mealtime or bedtime prayers. What about having them prayer walk your church or keep a thankfulness notebook for a month?

The United Methodist Discipleship Ministries website offers resources on prayer like teaching children to recognize answered prayers. They suggest having children decorate a prayer request container. Each night encourage your children to share their prayer requests. Have them draw or write them down on slips of paper. Include your own prayer concerns as well. Pray together for the requests. Place them inside the container and keep praying.
Wait a month and read over your requests. Talk about ways God answered any of your prayers, marking those slips “Answered.” Be sure to thank God for responding to your prayers. Keep the answered requests together in a separate container marked “Answered Prayers.” Return the other slips to the first container and keep praying. Wait a month and repeat the process.