Inviting Kids Into Conversations with God
Wednesday, February 26, 2025
written by Rev. Leah Quarles
I had the pleasure of meeting with a mom new to our community last week. It was one of those spirit-filling conversations. A moment to step away from “Look what I can do!” and Bluey songs (I do love some Bluey), to have some much needed thoughtful conversation.
We sat outside and shared our stories - from growing up in the church, heading off to college and launching careers, to now raising kids. We reflected on how, for us, becoming parents has unlocked a new understanding of the depth of God’s love, welcome and forgiveness. Which is a big reason why we want to provide for our children to have their own relationships with God and Jesus. This all led to a question: How do you teach Christine to pray?
I had to chuckle because recently Christine has been praying to God an interesting prayer to say the least. It goes something like this:
Dear God,
don’t let me die.
I DO NOT WANT TO LIVE WITH YOU.
*Angry humph!*
The end.
The backstory–we and our friends have had a great deal of loss in the last two years. At four-years old Christine is no stranger to ‘so and so died’ or “mommy has to go help with a funeral” talks. Maybe a bit more so because she’s a Pastor’s kid? But I do understand kids are naturally curious about death. This is absolutely normal.
So I get to tell Christine about heaven and God taking care of all of Creation there, including our grandparents and family pets. I shared with her that one day we will all be together there with all our loved ones who live there now. Which leads me to her prayer which has since happened another time in the car on our way to school. Was I a bit taken aback? Of course. But then I realized a few things.
First, she kind of sounds like a psalmist—sharing her honest thoughts and feelings with God. Thanks be to God for that book! And secondly, she’s learning to talk to God. I often tell kids before we join together in prayer, “prayer is just talking to God.” Christine is discovering she can talk to God whenever and about whatever. I think that’s a great starting place for her own prayer life and a wonderful reminder for my own.
The other practice I do to encourage Christine to grow in her conversations with God is to help prompt prayer with “I wonder” questions when we pray together at bedtime. It goes something like this:
● I wonder what family/friends you want to thank God for?
● I wonder who needs God’s help? Who is sick right now?
● I wonder what awesome thing happened today you want to thank God for?
● I wonder if we made any mistakes today? Do we need to say sorry for anything?
Prayer doesn’t need to happen one way. You don’t need perfect prose or impressive vocabulary. It’s the most intimate connection we have to God–our God who formed us and knows us better than we know ourselves. So what a freeing reminder, or perhaps revelation. And what a great way to connect with our children while at the same time encouraging them to have their own conversations with God.