Engaging Students

in Prayer

Opening PrayerJesus has no hands but our hands to do

his work today.

He has no feet but our feet to lead others in his way.

He has no tongue but our tongue to tell people how he died.

He has no help but our help to bring others to his side.

Grab Bag Activity?• Take each object out of the bag one at a

time• Discuss if the item has anything to do with

prayer, and if so, what.• Place the items you think have something

to do with prayer in one pile, and those that have nothing to do with prayer on another.

• As this is done, build a list of statements on “Prayer is about …” eg a teabag could be,

“Prayer is about taking time” • Share with the other groups.

Prayer Format

• Gather

Light candle

Sign of Cross

Welcome and theme

Opening Prayer

• Listen

Scripture

• Respond to reading – quiet reflection, music, song, psalm, spontaneous prayers, dance, symbolic action, gestures

• Send Forth

Closing prayer

Closing hymn

Sign of the Cross

Praying with a Gospel Story in Class Prayer

See handout

Spontaneous Prayer

Images of God

Ensure children are introduced to a wide range of images of God, from both Old and New Testament and include both male and female images.

No image is the ‘correct’ one as each image conveys something of the truth of God, but never the whole truth.

Multiple images of God enable people to have a greater understanding of God.

P4 God strand Theological Focus

Brainstorm with the students different attributes of God. Ask them to think of what they know about God and write words they would use to describe God. The same attribute can be written in different ways, such as ‘God of Compassion’ or ‘Compassionate God’.

Add to the attributes throughout the year, especially after using Scriptures for prayer and looking at what the texts reveal about God.

• (Gen 1:1-2,7)• (Ex 16: 1-36)• (Isaiah 30:18)• (Psalm 95:3)• (Isaiah 66:6-9)• (1Samuel 2:2)• (Exodus 19:4)• (Matthew 20:1-16)• (John 6:51)• (Luke 15: 1-7).

Look up the following Scripture references.

What image of God does each one portray?

• (Gen 1:1-2,7) God as creator • (Ex 16: 1-36) God as provider • (Isaiah 30:18) God of justice • (Psalm 95:3) God as King • (Isaiah 66:6-9) God as mother • (1Samuel 2:2) God as rock • (Exodus 19:4) God as eagle • (Matthew 20:1-16) God the gracious

employer • (John 6:51) God as living bread • (Luke 15: 1-7) God as shepherd

What image of God could go with each prayer?

• … we pray for the people who have been ravaged by bushfires

• … we pray for all those in our community who are ill

• … we pray that we may be generous in our donations for the poor

• … we pray for those who are excluded because of their race or colour

Help students be aware that God is not just some magical figure who, with the click of fingers, can suddenly make it rain or make the wars stop or stop world poverty. Students (and us) must realise there is a reason for everything. People create wars, people pollute the air, people contribute to poverty etc. God cannot fix what we continue to create. Our own actions are important. We have to change, not God.

Not all prayers are answered

• Form groups of 5

• Each person in the group read one of the following headings, highlighting the main points:– Purposes and Designs of Prayers (p1)– Thanks and Praise (p2)– Inspiration and Blessing (p3, 4)– Help (p5, 6)– Forgiveness, Litanies (p6)

• Share your bit of reading with your group

Handout – Purposes and Designs of Prayer

Some suggested prayer ideas …..

Greeting (a description of

God to whom the group is praying

Reason (praise, petition,

sorrow, thanks)

Closing (the prayer is

made through Jesus Christ or the Holy Spirit)

Loving God

Thank you for my family

Amen

Thank You, Sorry, Please

• Pin up 3 envelopes labeled Thank You, Sorry, Please.

• Let the students write their prayers on slips of paper and put them in the envelopes.

• Check on the prayers as a class regularly and share in the joy when they are answered.

Prayer DiariesThank You Sorry Please

Monday For this wonderful weather

That I was in a bad mood this morning

Look after grandma in hospital

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Prayer WheelPrayer Wheel

Litany Sorrow

Blessing

Thanks

Inspirational

Help Praise

Traditional

Glue onto cardboard. Cut out a pointer arrow and make a pointer by using a pin and placing the pointer in the middle of the wheel. Spin the wheel and ask students to write or say a prayer of that type.

Cut Out Pictures

Students find a magazine and cut out a picture showing a nature scene. Glue that picture onto an A4 sheet and write a Prayer of Praise underneath it. Put all onto a mural.

Creator God, your world is of immense beauty.

or

For trees, we praise you.

Picture PrayersGive out pictures at random and ask students to write an appropriate prayer eg a picture of an older person giving a present to a younger person and a Prayer of Thanks could be composed.

Brainstorm Have students Brainstorm the “what” for

various prayer types. For example,

Today we are going to write some ‘Asking Prayers’. What are some of the things we could ask for?

or

Let’s think of as many things as we can for which we might ask God’s forgiveness.

NEWSPAPER PRAYER

Students jointly construct a prayer of petition/intercession relevant to a newspaper article

– See Newspaper Prayer Handout

Acrostic PrayerCreator God, we thank you for the world you have made for love of us. Thank you for

CaterpillarsRiversEaglesApplesTreesInsectsOceansNuts

and all of creation

Prayer SessionHave 5 boxes, brightly decorated. Children choose 1 from

each box.

Box 1: Selection of readingsBox 2: Selection of songsBox 3: Selection of prayers, traditional and inspirational Box 4: Selection of visuals eg statues, pictures, photos,

crosses etcBox 5: Selection of Activities eg prayer wheel, gift of

praise, dice prayer

(If group after group repeat the same activity or song, remove the card for a while.)

Target Strategy

Students use the Target Strategy and record in the outer circle some times that they have missed the mark or target, that is, they have sinned against someone. Students reflect on those times and record in the second circle what they have done to make up to the person to feel better and reconciled within themselves. On the arrow they write a prayer of sorrow using the suggested structure.

I hurt my best friend’s feelings by saying that her painting was horrible

Reconciling through prayer

Prayer of Sorrow for an actionNaming GodSaying sorry for wrong actionAsking for God’s help for the future

I apologised and told

her that her painting was

better than mine

Leading Litanies

• For the shady trees and refreshing rain…

Response: We praise you, God. (to praise)• For our family and friends…

Response: We thank you, God. (to thank)• For peace in our world…

Response: We ask your help, God. (to ask for help or make a petition)

• For excluding others from our game when they wanted to play…

Response: We’re sorry, God. (to say sorry)

Big Book

Make a class Big Book of Prayers. Devote a number of pages to particular types of prayers, Prayers of Sorrow, Morning Prayers, Prayers of Thanks, Blessing Prayers etc. Students can write the prayers and illustrate them. Use this for class prayer times.

“Students should be introduced to a range of ways of praying so that their relationship with God is fostered by familiarity with ways that suit their individual or social needs.”

(From “Prayer and Sacramental Celebrations, Theological Focus p.3)

Activity - A Tinfoil Prayer

Complete Handout – My Favourite Ways of

PrayingComplete Handout – What type of prayer experiences have your class experienced this year?

Art

Chants

Raps

Dance

Song

Music

Echo mimesLiquid picturesChorus plays

Traditional PrayersSpontaneous Prayers

How can we pray in the classroom?

Thanks

Praise

Inspiration

Blessing

Help

Forgiveness

Litanies

Silence

Scripture

In the environment

Meditation

Contemplation

Repeating prayers

One child ‘holding the fort’

Can’t be heard

Dear Lord

‘Lord hear us’

Going round the circle

Passing an object

Reading prayers from books

Meaningful PrayerEvery day:

Handout - Meditation and Reflection

• Form groups of 4.

• Each person in the group read one of the headings individually:

Meditation

Contemplation

Centering Prayer

Mantras

• Share your bit of reading with the others

Prayer and Sacramental Celebrations Module

Starting with Year 1, share with the

others what is covered in your year level in

“Imaginative Prayer – Karakia and Meditation”

This is when you, the teacher, are to lead prayer, preferably once or twice a week.

Prayer of the Examen• Become aware of your feelings at this moment.• Be thankful to God for your gifts and your life.• Tell God that you want to see yourself more and more as

God sees you.• Go over the events of your day so far and reflect on one

of these when you really noticed God with you and loving you.

• Thank God for the good times.• Tell God that you are sorry and ask for help if you need

to change in some way. • Look forward with hope and reflect on how you need to

grow in your love for God by being more helpful to others in the days to come.

Gift of Thanks• Gift wrap a small box and tie

a ribbon around it to make it look like a present.

• Then give out small pieces of paper or sticky labels and ask the group to each draw or write something that they want to thank God for.

• Quiet music can play while students come and place the prayers on the box.