Miss Heather's New Preschool Prayer Tools

Musical prayer
Like musical chairs—put on praise music and move around and sing to the praise music (not a good idea to use worship music, because this activity isn’t exactly worshipful with the moving around and stopping that keeps happening). When the music stops find a chair and then the leader decides who prays. For example, first one to sit, last one to sit, I just randomly picked children until they all had a turn. I gave some suggested prayer topics and the child chose which one he/she wanted to pray for. The child then had a choice…either he/she could lead us in a prayer that we would repeat after him/her or everyone could pray at the same time in regards to the topic the child had selected. Since I have preschoolers we have enough chairs so everyone will have one when the music stops…no one is left out.

Variations:  Use colors/shapes/numbers/letters that you attach to the floor as a winding path make sure that they are spaced so children step from one to the next. Play the music and let the children sing. When the music stops then the children pray. (For example, everyone on the color yellow prays for families, everyone on red prays for children without homes.)

For the numbers you could do the same thing or pray number prayers:

• Pray for people who are whatever age the number is you are on

• Pray that many things for the topic/person/people group—so you’d pray three things in regards to your prayer item

• Or speak forth that many blessings on another (e.g. on the number 2 you’d speak forth two blessings)

• Or that many words of adoration to God

• Or go pray for that many other people in the room for healing, wisdom in their studies, greater revelation from God, something specific, you could ask them what they’d like prayer for, or whatever topics you desire.

For the letters you could do the same thing as with the colors or pray letter prayers:

• For the letter you land on you pray for a people group that starts with that letter (good idea to write those people groups on the letters so children don’t have to try to think of a group).
• Pray for people whose names start with that letter (good idea to include some names on the letter).
• Pray different prayers for different letters (i.e., on the letter “i” you intercede, on the letter “p” you petition or prophesy, on the letter “c” you claim a promise or confess sins, on the letter “d” you make a declaration, the letter “a” could be for adoration, the letter “r” is for recompense (command the hand of the Lord to seek recompense against various spirits of evil—rebellion, pride, death, destruction, poverty, witchcraft, etc.)—IMPORTANT!! Do not command the hand of the Lord to seek recompense against a person!!!

For the shapes you could do the same thing as with the colors or pray shape prayers:

On the circle you could pray for:

• Unity (in families, churches, schools, etc.)

• Marriages (since the shape is like that of a ring)

• What does a circle represent to you? What do you think of when you see a circle?

On the triangle could pray for:

• People/churches that haven’t yet received the fullness of the teaching on the trinity or triune God.

• People triangles keeping God at the center so that the sides work together (e.g. each point on the triangle represents a person (such as mother, father and child). So each side represents a relationship between two people (e.g. relationship between mother and child, father and child and mother and father).

• What else do you think of to pray for when you see a triangle?

On the square you could pray for:

• People who are boxed in by the enemy or by the flesh (held in bondage)

• People who aren’t stepping out of the box…out of their comfort zone to do greater and greater things for God

• People boxed in religious tradition

On the heart you could pray for:

• Hurting people (physically, spiritually, mentally, emotionally, socially, financially)
• Relationships
• For God’s love to be poured out on a person/people group
• To have or walk in the Father’s heart
• Pray for a topic on your heart or something about which you are passionate

On the star you could pray for:

• God’s light to be revealed in greater measure
• For people to walk in the fullness of God’s light
• For people to see themselves as God sees them (as a star…as someone special…full of worth…someone He formed and created)
• For people not to participate in astrology, etc.

Obstacle course prayer
Make an obstacle course having things to crawl/hide under, jump over, go between, etc.

Some possible prayer ideas for obstacle course:

• Pray for people who are trying to hide their sins from others/God
• Pray for people who are hiding their hurts inside and not giving them to God…not letting God heal them of their hurts
• Pray for people who are in hiding (such as people hiding from abusive people, or Christians in other countries having “hidden” churches, etc.)
• Pray for people who’ve been discouraged to jump with the joy of the Lord
• Pray for people to jump over obstacles by faith
• Pray for an increased hunger in people so they want to jump deeper into reading/exploring the Word/Bible
• Pray for people who feel stuck “between” a rock and a hard place
• Pray for relationships of people where something has come between them
• Pray for people who when choosing between good/bad, God/enemy have chosen the negative
• Pray for people to overcome evil with light
• Pray for an overflowing of God’s power/light/glory/etc.

Pray with play dough /clay:

• Form something you think God wants you to pray for
• Make (or use cookie cutters) transportation shapes:
  •  and pray for safety for those traveling/using those modes of transportation
  • and pray for those building/maintaining/repairing them for wisdom, etc.
• Etc.

Beanbag toss prayer:
Toss beanbags into holes/buckets/targets each labeled with a different type of prayer or each having a picture of a different pastor/leader/missionary/etc. If the child makes it in they pray one type of prayer (such as a blessing/impartation/releasing of God’s power in greater measure in the person’s life, etc.). If the person makes it part way in they pray a different kind of prayer (such as for the person’s physical, spiritual, mental, emotional, social, financial well-being). If the person doesn’t make it in they pray another prayers (such as for strengthening the person, or for how the person may have been walking in darkness/weakness/missing the mark—speaking forth the light and what is desired instead). Or no matter where they toss it they could pray the same type of prayer. 

Mary saved up money for a whole year to buy expensive perfume that she then poured out on Jesus’ feet as worship. What can you do to worship Him? Draw him a picture…write Him a poem…sing Him a song…do something for someone else…give away something that you like a lot. 

Look around at creation and list many of the things you see and how they remind you of God…thank Him for them…These can be clues to point you to Him and to how He wants you to pray. For example, if you see mountains you might pray for people who live in the mountains of the world, or you might pray for the safety of animals who live in the mountains, or you might pray for protection over the mountains (such as ones that in the past may have experienced destruction of any sort from fires, avalanches, etc.)

To go with getting “pickled” in God’s presence. It’s good to talk to them about “resting” in God’s presence. It is when we rest in His presence (e.g. get pickled…where we are thinking only about Him, resting in Him…immersed in Him) that we are in a place where we cannot worry. It is also the place we are to be in to do warfare (God is the one who fights the battle, we ask Him what to do and then we “rest” in Him as we do what He says). When something is happening that has made you feel scared in the past like a storm or a dog barking and running after you, enter His rest…it’s a place where worry can’t exist, therefore the enemy can’t get you to walk in fear.