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Oriental Trading

Prayer is so important. It brings us closer to God. How often do you find yourself forgetting to pray, getting sidetracked in prayer, not sure what to pray for or even just repeating the same ol’ things without much thought? What about our kids? Can we teach our kids to develop a strong prayer life? Absolutely!

I LOVE hearing a child pray. It is usually so heartfelt. Seriously, they thank God for EVERYTHING; for Mom, Dad, the dog, the cat, their grandma’s cat, the lizard they saw running across the lawn and every other thing they can think of. Prayer is about more though. It’s our lifeline to our Heavenly Father.

I created a PRAY-terpillar to remind kids to pray and guide them to think about praying for certain things.

  • PRAISE: Praise God! He is our rock, almighty, powerful, loving, amazing and so much more. Help kids to think about this. It sets the tone for the whole prayer when you remember who you are talking to and what God is truly capable of. They may not fully grasp us (I’m not sure any of us ever do), but they’ll begin to develop an understanding that grows with time.
  • THANKS: Thank God for everything. All good things come from him. Let’s remember to take the time to tell God how much we noticed and appreciate his blessings.
  • HELP OTHERS: Teach kids to think of and pray for others. God hears their prayers. How great would it be to have hundreds of children praying for a sick friend or family member? This is also the time for them to notice when someone is sad or fighting and pray for them.
  • HELP SELF: And now we remember to ask God to help us. Are they struggling to behave and need help? What about a big test coming up? Are they sick? Are they trying to learn something new that they might ask God to be with them and help them with?
  • SORRY: And finally, “I’m Sorry.” Jesus loved us so much that he died for us. He offers us grace and forgiveness. Acknowledging we messed up and telling God we are sorry helps every one of us grown, including our children.

Let’s get started making a PRAY-terpillar from a sock. (There’s a paper option too for those who want to do this in a bigger setting without the mess.)

Supplies: Long Sock, Stuffing (stuffing, rice, beans, bean bag balls, etc.), String/Pipe Cleaners/Rubber bands, Permanent Marker

  1. Cut 6 pieces of string to create the body parts and set aside.
  2. Pour stuffing into the sock.
  3. Tie (or use rubber band/pipe cleaner) the end to keep stuffing from coming out.
  4. Tie sections creating a head and 5 sections plus the tail
  5. Add the antenna’s with pipe cleaners or string
  6. Draw a face
  7. Write the parts of a prayer on each section: PRAISE, THANKS, HELP, HELP, SORRY
  8. Yay! You’re PRAY-terpillar is ready to pray with you!

CLEANER, SIMPLER OPTION: Have kids make 6 circles with paper. Now, draw the face on the first circle and write the parts of the prayer on each section of the body. They can hang it up in their room. OR get a pillowcase and markers to draw on cloth. Draw all of this on a pillowcase and they’ll see every night before they go to bed… and every morning when they wake up!

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