“I need a drink of water” is a common request at bedtime. Use drinking cups to create a prayer station in your children’s bedroom. Help them develop a habit of praying for people both near and far.
Teaching Time: 15 minutes
Materials: 2 plastic drinking cups, jumbo craft sticks, a permanent marker
Family Activity:
Using a marker, label one cup “My Community” and the other “My World.” On the craft sticks, print the names of people you want to pray for that are nearby (in your country). Use actual names or broad labels like grandparents, teacher, coach, friends, president, pastor, etc. Place these prayer sticks in the “My Community” container. Use more craft sticks to print names of missionaries serving in other countries and groups of people who do not know about Jesus. With older children use names of specific people groups, like “Malay children.” For younger children, country labels are more appropriate, like “children in India.” Before bed, allow children to choose one prayer stick from each container to use for prayer. You may end up making sets of prayer sticks for each bedroom!
Option: For tweens and teens, encourage them to download the Joshua Project app and pray for the unreached people group of the day.
Discuss:
- Read James 5:13-16. What circumstances are the people in your community and in your world facing? How then can you pray for them?
- What verses or passages can you pray over the people in your community and in the world?
Pray:
Ask God to burden your children’s heart for specific unreached people groups.
