How to Make a Prayer Journal for Children

Prayer journals can be effective ways for children to learn how to reflect on their spiritual lives. Prayer journals can be as simple or as intricate as you like. Giving your children a way to focus their prayer lives and their reflections that lead into and out of prayer bring vitality and purpose. Preparing your child's prayer journal brings you together in this important life activity.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Notebook or other journal pages
• Bible

1. Prayer journals help children make connections. journal and fountain pen image by jimcox40 from Fotolia.com

   Divide a prayer journal into segments. If, for example, you want to instill prayerful reflection in your child on a regular basis, divide his journal into weekly or daily reflections. Encourage your child to enter the date and day so he can look back on the nature of his thoughts within a time framework.

2. Give Scripture passages to guide children's reflections. bible image by pearlguy from Fotolia.com

   Enter a biblical passage to jump-start each day's or week's reflections. Take the time to write or paste from a computer document Bible passages to guide your child's reflections and to give her focus in her prayer life. Catholic and Episcopal parents or religious educators can refer to their church's liturgical calendar. Parents with other Christian beliefs can follow the religious seasons of the year. Examples of guiding Bible passages might include John 1:29-34. Consider giving this visually stimulating passage about Jesus as the Lamb of God just before Easter.

3. Provide guiding questions for prayerful reflection. question box image by Pete Linforth from Fotolia.com

   Provide guiding questions to help your child reflect on his prayers and the day's Bible passages. If the Bible passage is John's Lamb of God passage, you might write in or paste from a computer document questions such as "What does it mean to you that Jesus takes away the sins or the world?" You might also write, "What does it mean to you that Jesus is the Lamb of God?" Provide two or three questions. Leave sufficient space for written reflections.

4. Use images throughout a child's prayer journal. sheep image by wojciechhajduk from Fotolia.com

   Make a prayer journal attractive. Decorate your child's prayer journal with colorful images from Scripture passage. Use a computer application such as Microsoft Word or Publisher to access clip art files. Print out in color and glue them onto the cover and pages. Match images to Scripture passages. For example, glue images of sheep beside Luke's "Parable of the Lost Sheep." (Luke 15:1-7)

Tips & Warnings

• Let your child know that her prayer journal is private.

• Set a time each week or day--weekly may be best--and join your child in prayerful journal reflection.

References

• Episcopal Lectionary: A Liturgical Calendar for the Year 2010

Resources

• Teaching Minds, Changing Hearts: Praying and Listening--Preparing to Meet God, Prayer Journaling