Many children want to pray — they have a natural instinct toward conversation with God — but they don't know how. Prayer resources don't make prayer mechanical; they give children language and structure until prayer becomes natural. The best resources are simple, visual, and concrete, and they scaffold without replacing genuine conversation.
Why Prayer Needs Resources
Desiring God — Free Articles and Devotionals on Prayer
Desiring God (desiringgod.org) has a rich collection of free articles specifically on teaching children to pray — including Teach Them to Pray: A Guide for Parents and reflections on incorporating prayer into family rhythms. The Solid Joys daily devotional app is free and provides a short, Bible-grounded reflection each morning — excellent for parents who want to begin the day with a moment of Scripture and prayer before the school run.
Bible Gateway — Audio Psalms for Prayer Formation
Bible Gateway (biblegateway.com) provides free audio recordings of any Bible passage. The Psalms are the original prayer book of God's people, and hearing them read aloud is a powerful way to give children the vocabulary of prayer. A family practice of listening to one psalm before bed — particularly the short praise psalms like Psalm 100, 121, or 148 — forms children in the patterns of biblical prayer without requiring any preparation from parents.
Simple Prayer Structures That Work for Children
TSP (Thank, Sorry, Please) — the simplest scaffolding for young children. Three sentences: something to thank God for, something to say sorry for, something to ask for. Can be done in 60 seconds and teaches the three essential movements of prayer.
ACTS (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) — for middle and upper primary. Slightly more developed, helps children understand that prayer is not just asking.
The Lord's Prayer phrase by phrase — teaching children to pray through each petition of the Lord's Prayer, pausing to add their own specific content under each heading, is one of the richest prayer formation practices available. BibleProject's Sermon on the Mount series (free) covers the Lord's Prayer in context and gives excellent background for this practice.
