| |
PRESCHOOLERS & PRAYER |
|
Archive
2007
Kids Prayer Summit 08[Jan 08]
Why Teach Children...[Feb 08]
Kids Prayer Q & A...[Mar 08]
In the News...[Apr 08]
Uniting in Prayer [May 08]
Jericho Prayer Walks [Jun 08]
Summons to Sacrifice [Jul 08]
Archive
2007
Kids Prayer Summit 07[Jan 07]
Are They Too Young? [Feb
07]
Empower A Generation
[Mar 07]
Kids Prayer In France
[Apr 07]
What Is Ministry
[May 07]
Global Day of Prayer...
[Jun 07]
P.I.A. Summit 2007...
[Jul 07]
Informed Prayer
[Aug 07]
All Night Prayer-Part 2
[Sep 07]
Back-to-School Rally
[Oct 07]
Kids Ex-Plosion
[Nov 07]
7 Essentials Report 07
[Dec 07]
Archive 2006
Kids Prayer Summit [Jan 06]
Bangladesh Report [Feb 06]
State of Kids Prayer [Mar
06]
Mixing It Up [Apr 06]
When Children Pray [May06]
High
Schooler's Conf... [Jun06]
National SOP Report [Jul
06]
All Night Prayer
[Aug
06]
Going Deeper [Sep
06]
A Global Call for Kids [Oct
06]
Healed by Simple ... [Nov 06]
7 Essentials Report ... [Dec 06]
Archive 2005
Prophetic Words [Jan 05]
Deep Impact
[Feb 05]
Why...Kids
Prayer Min [Mar 05]
The Gift of Prayer [Apr 05]
Anna [May 05]
The Key [Jun 05]
Empowered Conf [Jul 05]
Who Will Pray...? [Aug 05]
The Joys of Waiting [Sep 05]
Saturday SOP
[Oct 05]
Children at Risk [Nov 05]
Preschoolers & Prayer [Dec 05]
Archive 2004
Kingdom Praying [Jan 04]
The Power of One [Feb 04]
Kids Prayer-Zimbabwe [Mar 04]
Shekinah Kids [Apr 04]
Prayer Giftings [May 04]
Update (March) [Jun 04]
Soul-Saving Prayer [Jul04]
Use Me too! [Aug 04]
KidsPrayer in Africa [Sep 04]
Intergen Prayer Mtg [Oct 04]
Kids Praise & Worship [Nov 04]
Intercession [Dec 04]
|
Preschoolers and Prayer
Nila is a preschool teacher at her local church
and is convinced that preschoolers can learn
things of the spirit and begin doing the works
of Jesus at very young ages.
Bev helps in her church nursery during weekly "Monday Night
Prayer" meetings and is becoming convinced that
preschoolers can learn to do "spiritual" things
in her class, especially in the area of prayer.
She doesn't just "baby sit" anymore.
Miss Heather is actively involved daily in training kids in her
preschool class in areas of prayer and spiritual
development.
What do these three women, of different ages and areas of service
have in common? They believe that preschoolers
have a place of ministry and are capable of
being trained to grow spiritually before they
hit kindergarten.
There is very little in the way of "curriculum"
for preschoolers, however these teachers applied
methods observed in the natural world to help
train preschoolers in their spiritual
development. Here are some quick ideas and a
story from each of their experiences. |
 |
|
In the natural world... |
Spiritual Development |
-
Infants are given small portions
of "table food" within a few
short months of their birth.
|
-
Small children can be fed more
than the "milk of the Word" from
very young ages...the same
things adults learn,
preschoolers can begin learning
in small portions...one small
bite at a time.
|
-
Repetition is vital to training
preschoolers in various areas of
development (cognitive skills as
well as motor skills).
|
-
Repetition is vital to a
preschooler's spiritual
development. It is important not
to move on to new/unrelated
topics too quickly (not just
within a class period, but a
curriculum focus). Cover the
essentials and stick with them
week after week.
|
-
Before leaving preschool a child
will have reached 1/2 of his
final height, as well as made
over half of the needed
neurological connections needed
for his lifetime.
|
-
Before leaving preschool,
children have the potential to
understand the basics of
salvation as well as make many
of the spiritual applications
needed to guide them the rest of
their lives.
|
|
|
|
|
Nila's
story: Nila, a preschool teacher, arrived a little
late for a special revival service at her local church
only to find someone sitting in her reserved seat (yes,
she has a reserved seat and is actually considered a
ministry leader). She had brought her toddler with her
who was in need of prayer for healing and didn't
appreciate having to sit next to the person who "stole"
her seat.
Not long into the worship time, Nila's toddler, a little girl,
said, "mom, you need to pray for that lady." She was
talking about the woman who was in her mom's seat. Nila
glanced over at the woman and then back at her little
girl and ignored the comment. This happened two or three
times. Finally, at her daughter's insistence, Nila asked
the woman if her daughter could say a prayer for her.
Her little girl said a prayer and Nila and the woman
felt a charge from it.
Nila says that she had no idea what to pray for the lady and that's
why she eventually let her toddler say the prayer. She
was so irritated by the events surrounding her seating
arrangement that she missed something important that her
toddler, who is trained to be sensitive to the Holy
Spirit, picked up.
When service was over, Nila's little girl asked her, "mom, did you
see that black stuff all over the lady's face and here
(pointing to her shoulder)?" Nila hadn't seen a thing,
but her toddler had been sensitive to the Spirit and
after prayer the black stuff was gone.
Nila brought her girl to be prayed for that night, but instead her
little girl had been used to pray for someone else. |
|
Bev's story:
Bev, grandmother of six, has recently discovered
that there is no curriculum for non-reading
preschoolers, and is working to change that by doing
lessons with preschoolers during her church's weekly
prayer meetings. Here are some things she has learned in
her own words.
- The kids are so
innocent and they will do and believe exactly what
they're told.
- In our weekly prayer
meetings, my preschoolers PRAY. They don't sit around
and goof off.
- More and more, I'm
learning that two-year olds can go into realms we can't.
They can go because they don't have the baggage,
cynicism, and lack of trust that adults have.
- The difference between
training a preschooler and teenager in prayer is that
one grows up expecting answers. And when the answers
come, they know how to respond. My daughter grew up in a
praying environment and her husband didn't. One day he
asked her, "how come your prayers get answered and mine
don't?" She replied, "I grew up believing that my Father
would answer when I asked."
Out of the
blue, Bev's little granddaughter, Chryslyn, led in
prayer for protection of her cousin Jade. The next day
Jade fell out of a two-story window and ended up with
only a black eye. Chryslyn and her sister were not
shocked by Jade's story because they prayed before
she fell. They expected such protection after prayer,
"naturally!" Bev says the difference between training
preschoolers in prayer and not is how the miraculous can
become an expectation rather than an exception.
|
|
|
Miss
Heather's story: I can't think of anyone who would
ever meet Miss Heather that wouldn't like her. She is
gentle, quiet, and always looking for ways to grow
spiritually. Miss Heather is also brave...she has taken
prayer training to her preschoolers! Click the links
below to read about her adventures in prayer training
for the little ones she has been blessed to nurture.
|
|
Submitted by: AC
(c) 2005 |
|
