Is prayer just for adults, or can kids pray too? While this might seem like a ridiculous question to some, Dr. David Ireland says that we often think that children can’t pray, or their prayers don’t mean as much.
Dr. Ireland tells the story of a one particular night when he was speaking at conference in South Korea, during the evening, he walked into the prayer room, and what he found shattered all of his preconceived notions about prayer.
“I went in there and you could hear the sound of people praying that knew how to pray. The moment I walked through the door, I heard these words, God give me Indonesia, God I ask you for Egypt, give that to me as an inheritance for your kingdom, God give me Azerbaijan, and I heard these cries and when I looked to see who was praying those specific prayers, it was little kids.”
These children, eight and ten years old were lying prostrate on the floor crying out for God to let them serve Him.
“They were dressed in their Superman pajamas outfit, or Cinderella outfit and they were there crying out before God and saying, God give me these countries I’ll serve you there when I grow up. God give these countries to me. I heard the voices of these kids, they were not praying in a tentative way as if they’re unsure, they were praying with confidence because they knew their way around the throne room of Grace.”
Dr. Ireland says that this experience shattered an image he had in his mind about children and prayer.
“God is not a grandfather, these kids are not His grandkids, these are His kids. Sometimes we think that we as the adults are God’s children and our children are God’s grandkids, but that’s not theologically accurate. The Throne Room of God is not cordoned off too Little Intercessors. Don’t think for a moment that your children don’t have full access to God’s Throne Room.”
David Ireland is the senior pastor of Christ Church, a multisite church in northern New Jersey with a membership of 8,000. He is a diversity consultant to the NBA and author of some 20 books, including .
Key Scripture: John 3:16
Featured Songs: This I Believe – Hillsong Worship; Eye of the Storm – Ryan Stevenson; King of the World – Natalie Grant
Raising a child who prays
