Prayer is powerful and should be an important part of our daily lives. Here is a craft that serves as a visual reminder to pray each day and tells us what to pray for. Here is what you will need to make it…
- Construction paper in 4 colors, cut in strips 11″ long by 1″ wide
- Glue (sticks, dots or school glue)
- Markers
We will be using an acronym to help us remember what to include in our prayers:
P – Praise and thanksgiving to God
R – Requests for prayer from the sick and suffering
A – Ask the Lord for what you need or want
Y – Yield to God and His will
The four colors of paper will be used to represent each letter of the word pray. I used red for “P”, blue for “R”, yellow for “A”, and green for “Y”, but you can use whatever four colors you would like. Each of these letters represents an important aspect of prayer. When we pray, we need to remember to first, praise and thank God for who He is and all that He has done and continues to do for us. Second, we need to be mindful of others and the needs that they have, especially when they have asked us to pray for them. (James 5:15) Third, it is okay to ask the Lord for things that we want or need. He wants us to ask, and He desires to give us good things. (Matthew 7:7-11; James 1:17) And finally, we must be willing to yield our hearts to God and His will for our lives. This includes areas we need to improve in or even repent of. (I John 1:9) Discuss this acronym and its meaning with your children and then decide what to write on your strips of paper and what colors you would like to use. Here are some examples of things to write in each category…
P – Praise and Thanksgiving to God (red strips): “Praise the Lord for His goodness!” “Thank you, Lord, for our home.” “Praise God for His mighty power!” “Thank you, Lord, for our daily food”. “Praise the Creator for our beautiful world!”
R – Request for prayer from those who are sick and suffering (blue strips): “Please let Miss Anne get well.” “Please help Brother Ted have a successful surgery.” “Please help Katie’s dad find a job.” “Please comfort Sister Molly while she is sad.”
A – Ask the Lord for what you need or want (yellow strips): “Please help me make a new friend.” “Please help our church to grow.” “Please help our garden to grow and give us good food.”
Y – Yield to God and His will (green strips): “Forgive me of my sins.” “Give me strength to make good choices.” “Help me to be more obedient.” “Please help me to be a cheerful helper.”
When you’ve finished writing out what to pray for, start assembling your chain. Take one strip and circle it around in a loop. Make sure the writing is on the outside so you’ll be able to see it. Overlap the ends and secure with glue.
Take another strip, loop it through the first loop, overlap the ends and secure with glue. You may choose to put all of one color together and then start the next color, or you may mix your colors up.
When finished, hang your prayer chain in a prominent place so that you will see it each day. As you pray, go down the chain and pray for the things you have written down. As your prayer requests change, add to or change out loops as needed.
“Pray without ceasing.” ~I Thessalonians 5:17