Helping Kids to Know God

Written by Cheri Fuller

The more children understand who God is, the more confidently they can pray. Prayer is a dialogue with God, and knowing Him and His attributes are important to prayer. You can begin by teaching preschoolers that God is good, loving, and the Creator. Preschoolers can voice simple thank-you prayers to God relating to everyday encounters.

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When we lead school-age children in praying for God’s peace, we are not asking Him for something outside His capabilities, because Jesus is the Prince of Peace. When we ask God to provide for a need, we do it with confidence because He is the Lord, our Provider.

Consequently, learning God’s attributes and names can be an exciting boost to your child’s prayer life. The Bible is a terrific resource for this endeavor. For example, the Psalms declare who God is and how He acts in behalf of His children: “The Lord is gracious and compassionate ... holy and awesome is his name” (Psalm 111:4,9). “For the Lord is always good ... his faithfulness continues through all generations” (Psalm 100:5). He is a God who listens and pays attention to our prayers (Psalm 66:19).

Here are ways to help children know God and pray confidently.

1. Snapshots of God. Children can tell God they love Him by describing Him by His names. Talk about a different name during family devotion time. Read the verse and ask your children to draw a picture that symbolizes this name of God.

He is Jehovah-nissi, “The Lord Is My Banner” (the banner an army carries into war) and “His Banner Is Love” (Exodus 17:15; Song of Songs 2:4).
He is Jehovah-jireh, “The Lord Will Provide.” He knows our needs and provides for us (Genesis 22:14).
He is Jehovah-shalom, “The Lord Is Peace,” who gives us inner peace (Judges 6:24).

Check out more names for God:
“The Lord My Shepherd” (Psalm 23:1).
“The Lord Who Heals” (Psalm 103:3, 147:3).
“The Lord Our Righteousness” (Jeremiah 23:6).
“The Lord My Helper” (Hebrews 13:6).

2. Alphabet Praise. Forty energetic children wiggled in their chairs for children’s worship one autumn Sunday. “Let’s praise God from A to Z,” I suggested. “He is so great and mighty that we could describe Him all day, but we only have 45 minutes. So let’s start with A. Raise your hand if you know something about God that starts with an A.”

Hands shot up. “Awesome! God’s awesome!” said Morgan.

“Able! He’s able to do anything!” said Andrew.

“Authority,” said a serious 8-year-old. “God has all the authority.”

I wrote the words on a white board as fast as the children called out the words. We finished with A, covered B, then started on C.

“Creator! Compassionate!” they called out. The children surprised me with how much they knew about God. It took two Sundays to complete the whole alphabet and all the while we were praising God.

3. Journals. You can help your child create his own journal of God’s names and character. Each page can feature a letter of the alphabet and include verses about who God is. Encourage your child to write or draw his “favorite things” about God in the notebook. Then choose one attribute to focus on each week as you pray together as a family. You will never run out of attributes because God’s character is inexhaustible!

Knowing God is a key to living the Christian life. And the more we know God, the better we can praise God for who He is.

Cheri Fuller is a speaker and award-winning author of 29 books, including When Children Pray: Teaching Your Kids to Pray With Power (Multnomah Publishers), from which this article is adapted.