Wants and Needs

Young kids are generally ego-centric by nature. When you ask them what they need, they may come up with answers such as toys, new shoes, a new dress, a puppy, and so on. Though these things are not bad, they do not need to be the only thing we have our children pray for. Children need to understand the difference between what truly is a need, and what is simply a desire. God has promised us to give us our needs; everything else is just added blessings.

During my Kids Prayer class, I occasionally bring in some random photos of objects. These are things that could be classified as either a “want”, a “need”, or both. As we go through the images, I ask them whether that object is something they absolutely need, or is it just something a child may want. For example, if I show a picture of water, I ask them if water is a want or need. They answer with what they think. We then talk about that object, and what the correct answer is. I also talk about how that object affects other people. For example, we know that water is a definitely a need and yet many areas of the world do not have clean water to drink. This starts training them to have a worldview so they can learn to pray for others and not just themselves.

Since children are visual, use photos or bring in objects that they can see and/or feel. Give thanks for the needs God has provided, and extra thanks for all the extra things.

Colleen Clabaugh
Kids & Youth Prayer Coordinator
World Network of Prayer | wnop.org