Eden’s Image of the Holy Spirit.
Read about it here.

Okay, I promised to tell you about the other forms of prayer we use during our Morning Cuddle time, so here are two more:

Rhyming Prayer:
When the kids are feeling giddy and not ready to settle into a time of focused prayer or meditation, they often request that I make up a ‘rhyme-y prayer.’ To do this I just pick simple things that they will be doing on that particular day and give thanks or ask a blessing for them. For instance, one bright morning in October I prayed something like this:

“Thank you God for the Fall, for colored leaves, red, gold and all. Thank you for the games we’ll play, kick-ball, dragon hunter’s club, and make believe all day! Help us respect our friends, and help us be kind to the end. Thanks that our lunch is ham and cheese, and not covered with snot when we sneeze.” (Uproarious laughter ensues, followed by a rousing group “Ah-MEN!”)

This simple rhyming method makes prayer accessible and relevant to their day to day life, and a funny punch line demonstrates to the kids that God doesn’t have to be some grumpy guy in the sky, and that religion doesn’t always have to be somber

Centering Prayer:
Centering prayer is an old contemplative tradition that can be used by people of any faith. I’ve found it to be especially useful with my older daughter, Eden (8yrs), who is very emotional and introspective. We’ve been doing centering prayer together since she was five years old. It’s given her a lot of comfort and guidance, especially during periods of change.

To practice centering prayer I ask the girls to close their eyes. Then I say, “Let’s take a deep breath in and a deep breath out.” We breathe together one or two times. Then I say something like, “Ask God to show you what God is doing today or to show you something that God wants you to know about.” Usually as soon as I say this one or both of them pops their hand up in the air saying, “Oh, me! Me!” They share with me what they’ve seen or felt, and I share with them what I’ve experienced (sometimes adjusting the language or image to suit their vocabulary.) Often they’ve seen some beautiful nature scene, or something spectacular like fireworks or fireflies. Once when Eden was five she said “I see God wrapping up love in bright red packages with silver packages bows and sending them up to the sky where they turn into love again and sprinkle down on all the sleeping people.” I also keep small spiral notebooks and markers in my bedroom so the girls can journal the images that they’ve seen.

On the rare days that the kids don’t receive anything during their centering time, I just tell them some true-thing about how God love them everyday, whether they hear from him/her or not. So far it hasn’t bothered them too much that they don’t “get” anything on some days.

To see and read more about doing centering prayer with children, you can read about our family experiences here or use the search box on the left to read some of the entries in the ‘mini monks’ or ‘family’ categories..

I’d love to hear what kind of prayer and meditation techniques suit your children!

Eden saw this image of a sunset one morning during centering prayer. Later that evening she pointed excitedly to the sky and said, “See Mommy! There it is!”

Cate’s: “I see Jesus giving food to all the butterflies!”