The Life of a Home Mom

16 Prayer Games that Teach Kids How to Pray

Prayer games provide a way for kids to learn about prayer and grow in their faith. Kids’ prayers typically come in different games designed for different age ranges, but all students should be able to play these games.

The most important thing about prayer is that prayer is something personal between the child and God. The more kids talk to God, the better they will understand prayer and develop a relationship with Him.

As we all know when a child plays a game about a topic they tend to remember it more. A game about prayer will definitely help a child remember the many ways they can pray and what they can pray about.

Games for Kids to Teach Them How To Pray

Prayer is a way to connect with God. It’s also an opportunity to show our trust that he knows what we need and has the power to give it to us. As Jesus taught his disciples, prayer should be as natural for children as talking or eating. Not every prayer needs to be elaborate. Trust me I’ve said some pretty quick ones as well as long ones, I’ve said them in tears on my knees and sang them too. Some of the simplest prayers are the most powerful.  

My hope is that kids can learn to pray as easily using some of these prayer games or prayer writing activities I’ve written in the past. If this idea intrigues you, here are some classroom games for children and youth to help them understand what prayer really means.

16 prayer games that teach kids prayer

The prayer games help teach children pray in a fun, creative, and interactive way! Jesus taught his disciples to pray by giving them a model prayer. He wanted his disciples to learn three basic truths: (1) Pray for God’s will, not ours; (2) Trust that God knows what is best and has the power to give it to us, and (3) Pray with perseverance.

How prayer games help enforce different ways to pray

Prayer is an important part of the Christian life. And it’s not just about what we say, but how we say it. Here are three classroom games that help kids pray in a truly Christian way.  

1 . Faith Chain Prayer  

Faith Chain Prayer is more of an activity instead of a game. You get one person to pray for somebody and then the next person has to pray for the person who prayed for them. All you have to do is say a prayer and then pass it on to the person next to you.

Another form of this is everyone makes a prayer paper chain and each person writes down a prayer they’d like God to answer. Each day a loop is taken off the chain and that person/prayer is prayed. This can also be done in a blessing form where they write their blessings on paper chains and share them with the group.

2 . Time Capsule Prayer

To start time capsule prayer, each player chooses a prayer for their future. Players also choose a place where they can hide their prayer. The first player then has 30 seconds to think up a place for his or her prayer and give clues to the next player. Once the person guesses where the prayer is hidden, the second player has 30 seconds to find it, and so on. Each time a prayer is found the one that discovered it must read it aloud and pray for them.

Here are some prayers that were written by the children:

“Dear Lord, please help me make good grades.”

“Please help me to be nice to people, even if they upset me.” “Help me to believe in myself.” “Help me not worry all the time.”

Time Capsule Prayer is not only great fun, it’s also a great way to teach kids that prayer is not just for the moment, but can also be spoken over something important in the future.

3. A Visit With God Game

A Visit With God is a game that is played in two parts. First, the children are asked to draw a picture of themselves and talk about what they would say to God if they met Him. The second part is for the children to act out their drawings. It’s best to make this into a puppet show.

Have children ask for something special from God. Sometimes young children find it hard to really think of anything they want. It’s helpful for them to brainstorm with their parents and friends first and come up with something specific like a Bible story they would like to learn or a prayer request for a family member or themselves.

4.  The Quiet Game

The Quiet Game is a game that encourages reflection and patience. The goal of the game is to be as quiet as possible while remaining in your own seat. When someone stands up, they are eliminated from the game. This is a fun way for young children to learn how to be still and quiet. It also helps them learn patience, a crucial part of prayer.

5.  Pen Pal Prayer:  Writing to God

Prayer is a way to communicate with God, and it also helps us grow closer to Him. God wants us to talk with Him. Praying with another person in this way through letters may be difficult at first, but it will help you grow as a Christian. You’ll learn how to pray for each other when someone else is in need, and it will give you a great opportunity to share your faith.

This game can be played with friends or relatives of your choice. The goal is to take turns writing letters back and forth, encouraging one another through the week’s events and reflecting on God’s faithfulness and goodness.

I was once in a bible study that we did something similar, it was more of a writing exercise. We were to pray first, clear our minds and begin writing a letter as if we were writing to God. Tell him everything we’d tell a penpal and ask him questions and any prayer requests we had. Once we were all done we had to free our minds and allow him to write to us. Write down what we heard him saying to us. Some he answered us and others he was stern letting us know what we needed to hear.

6.  The Laundry Prayer Game: Washing Away Our Sins

The Laundry Prayer Game helps students understand that we all sin, and that’s okay because God doesn’t love us any less.

In a group setting, have each student grab one item of clothing in your laundry bag.  Have them take turns explaining what the clothes mean to them (i.e., mother’s dress I wore for my First Communion, shirt Dad gave me when we went to see his work in Egypt). As they explain each piece of clothing and what it means to them, they need to be thinking about something that has happened in their lives for which they are truly sorry. As each student shares the meaning of their clothes and why they are sorry for what happened, have them hang their item on a hanger over your head or somewhere comfortable where you can keep an eye on the laundry bag. When you’re finished, ask the students to pray one final time for forgiveness.

The Pharisee and the tax collector are two characters that Jesus uses to teach us a powerful lesson about prayer.

7.  The Rainbow Game: Being Grateful for All God’s Blessings

The Rainbow Game is a fun way for kids to be thankful for all the blessings God has given them in life. Since you’re focusing on different parts of nature, it’s also good if you talk about how important green things are and how they grow without needing much care from us. It’s always great to be thankful for all the creatures that God has given us, too! For this activity, each player takes turns sharing one item they are grateful for. This could also be made into an activity for little ones, as they discuss the colors they write a word they are thankful for in that color and color over it.

When it’s a player’s turn, he or she holds up a hand with different color markers an example of green (e.g., grass, leaves, trees), blue (e.g., sky, clouds, water), red (e.g., apples, tomatoes, strawberries) or yellow (e.g., dandelions, mustard flowers, sunflowers). The player will share one of these examples and then another person will repeat the pattern by sharing something green and then someone else repeats that pattern and so on. If we open our hearts and minds to God’s love, He will fill them with light, joy, peace, and happiness.

Prayer Game: Blindfolded prayers

8. Blindfolded Drawing: Seeing God’s Hand in All Things

The Blindfolded Drawing game is a great way to help kids realize that God’s hand is in all things. Blindfold the player and then have them draw something they then have to talk about. It could be anything like a drawing of themselves, their pets, a favorite toy, a flower they found outside, etc. Explain that they are not drawing what they think it is but rather how God made it and what feelings it gives them when they touch it. We may not know everything there is to know about God, but what better way to experience Him than through the miracles He’s given us?

9. The Microwave Prayer Game: Making our Prayers Relevant for Our Times and Places

The Microwave Prayer Game is a fun way for kids to make their prayers relevant in their own times and places. The game involves telling God what you’re thankful for from the place where you are (e.g., I’m thanking You for my house, I’m thankful for my family). It’s a great way to think about how blessings are given but also what we do with our lives. As you go through your day, you can pray while cooking or eating, talking on the phone, or doing homework. All of these things can be seen as opportunities to thank God, this can be quick prayers of thanks just like cooking something in the microwave.

10. Praying in the Dark: Listening for God’s Voice

In the praying in the dark game, is simply everyone is seated somewhere in the room, once everyone has picked their spot the lights go out. They are instructed to begin their prayers, once their prayer is done they should hold up one hand. The parent or teacher should walk up and hand them a light to leave the area and go play. Leading them from dark to light. As we run our lives, it can be easy to forget that God has a plan and is guiding us every step of the way. This reminds us that God will lead us from the darkness and into the light.

11.  The Surprise Prayer Game: Praying for Others

The Surprise Prayer Game is a great way to help kids think about praying for others. The game involves writing down names of different people on note/index cards (e.g., family members, close friends, teachers) and then placing them in a bag. Take turns putting some of the notes in different bags and then pray for the people you pull out. As you get used to praying for others, it will be easier to start doing so on your own without using a surprise list!

12. Prayer Punch Cup Game: Releasing Stress and Finding Peace

The Prayer Punch Cup Game is a great activity for kids to play as they learn about loving others. This game involves punching holes in a cup and filling it with notes of praise, thanksgiving, requests for other people, and questions about prayer. As you add more of these things to the cup, the cup gets heavier. This game is a great way to help kids realize just how we can pray to him, that it isn’t just about going to him for requests.

13.  Secret Messages: Keeping Our Prayers Secret in Times of Trouble

When we have a problem and need guidance, it can be difficult to share those feelings with other people. The Secret Messages Game is a great way to help kids learn how to pray without feeling like everyone is listening in–and can sometimes be the only way for someone to talk about their troubles. This game involves writing down things like prayers, thank you notes, and answers to requests on a piece of paper and then taping it inside of an envelope. Each player gets these papers and takes turns reading one message at a time aloud while the others pay attention or try to guess who it’s for. This game may be hard at first but will soon become a rewarding experience!

When people are persecuted for their faith, they often remember Jesus’ words about “hidden treasure” that no one will be able to take away.

14. Unscramble The Scripture

Take a passage of scripture and pull out keywords, writing them on a piece of paper so you don’t forget. On a second sheet scramble the keyword up for others to guess.

15. Prayer Wreath Activity: Remembering God’s Protection

The prayer wreath game is a great way to help kids to pray for their friends every day. Have every child trace their hand, write their name (with something they’d like prayed over) and give them to the teacher. The teacher can take each hand and make copies or cut out enough handprints so all the kids have a handprint from each of their peers. Children will form a wreath with the handprints given and take it home to pray over. The prayer wreath can be hung on the wall as a reminder of who we can pray to God over.

15.  The Bible Scavenger Hunt: Finding Answers in Scripture

When we come to God with our questions, he wants us to look for answers in his Word. While we may not be praying here, we are learning that many of the answers we pray about are in the bible. The teacher/parent can make a scavenger hunt where kids must search through the scripture to find the verse or book of the bible that the item is in.

ex: a woman at a well/a well John 4:7

man with tablets Exodus

16. The Airplane Prayer Game

This is a fun and creative way to teach children how to pray and how to pray for others. Have all the kids spread out across the room. Each one has their own piece of paper to write down their prayer, now they must fold it into a paper airplane and toss it across the room. Once a plane lands near them they pick up the folded paper airplane, open it to see what was written on them. That will be their prayer for the day.

Prayer is important for everyone

Prayer is an important part of any Christian’s life. Whether you’re a child or an adult, there are many ways to learn and grow in your relationship with God. Today we’ve shared 17 different prayer games that can help teach children about prayer. They can be used in a prayer meeting, Sunday School class, or just as a family. Now it’s up to your creativity and God’s inspiration – prayer is all about individuals connecting with God! I would love to hear more prayer games you play or come up with. Let me know in the comments! Have a blessed week!

How prayer games help enforce different ways to pray
16 prayer games to teach kids to pray
Prayer Games Help Kids Different ways to Pray

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