Jesse Joyner, PhD

Funniest Prayers of Children

Photo Credit, Ben Stapley, 2012

These are actual prayers I have heard children pray as I’ve been a Children’s Minister.  These are kids ages 5-12:

Girl: “Dear Lord, I can’t wait to go to Korea….I mean, heaven.”

Boy: “Dear Lord, thank you that we can come to church today and thank you that no one got their head crushed or lost their arm on the way here.”

Boy (whose family lives in Virginia): “Dear Lord, please help my family as they drive to Poland”….  boy’s older brother interrupts….”You mean, Pennsylvania”

Boy: “Dear Lord, please split Jesse into two people so one of him can do his homework and the other of him can spend time with his wife” (note: I had told the kids I needed prayer for my busy schedule when I was in seminary at the time – trying to juggle family time and homework time)

What Would You Do?

And then there was the time a boy called Satan an S-O-B (he used the full terminology) in his prayer in front of all the kids.  I looked up to see lots of deer-in-headlight eyeballs of children looking right at me, waiting for a response.  Needless to say, I did my best to explain to the kids that we don’t use that term and then turn the situation into a teachable moment.

Jesus told us to have childlike faith (Mark 10:15)

You can’t make this stuff up.  My prayer is that all of us will learn how to pray from kids – who have such confident and bold faith.  They see no limits or boundaries to God’s power, which is why they pray the way they do.

What are some prayers of children that you have heard?

5 responses to “Funniest Prayers of Children”

  1. Mike Herrell Avatar

    My wife, Sherry, and I were teaching our 3-6 year old class to pray. A young girl of 3 prayed this prayer. “Dear God, help my Mom and Dad to stop fighting, that we won’t starve to death, and that they will come to church.”
    We learned that her parents had lost their jobs and had no money for food. We sent them food home by the girl and her sister. Within a month both parents were in church and within another month had been saved. God loves children’s prayers as they come from a pure heart of faith. I learned a lot from that class of children.

  2. Jessica Stepensky Avatar
    Jessica Stepensky

    From a ComChap boy: Dear Lord, please let Justin Bieber fall off the stage.

  3. Jesse Avatar

    That’s so cool, Mike, thanks for sharing that story. And Jessica, that’s definitely a keeper too. I’m going to share these around….

    1. Chetan Avatar

      Please pray for my family that they all be safe and hhltaey. Please pray for my stepdaughters mother and family that they are all hhltaey, safe, and can find forgiveness and healing. Please pray for my my father in law’s ex wife, Lori, that she can find healing, forgiveness, and peace. Lastly, please pray for myself and my husband, that the closing process goes smoothly on our first time home purchase. Amen.[]

  4. Daisy Avatar
    Daisy

    As part of my work I used to ask kids to write letters to God, and one of the most memorable was: “Dear God, my favorite food is rice and chicken. Do you have rice and chicken in heaven? Because if you don’t I don’t want to come to heaven….” Go figure…..

Search

Popular Posts

  • “Holy Fools”: Exploring the Journey of Calling for Christian Variety Performers

    I am happy to announce that my PhD dissertation has been published to ProQuest, an academic database for published research. I have made the dissertation open source, which means anyone anywhere can access the full content free of charge. Here is the full dissertation: https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/holy-fools-exploring-journey-calling-christian/docview/2622316783/se-2 Please share far and wide. I am very much excited…

  • The Easiest Large Group Game Ever
    The Easiest Large Group Game Ever

    This is probably the easiest large group game ever invented.  If you can think of an easier one, please let me know in the comments. Heads or Tails! This game of heads or tails involves EVERYONE in your large group.  It is actually better the larger the group gets.  There is an elimination factor to…

  • Children’s Sermon: Ezekiel’s Vision

    One Sunday last month, I taught the children’s sermon. In our church, the children are with the adults for the first half of the Sunday morning worship. Then they come to the front for a blessing and/or children’s sermon before being dismissed for a separate teaching time during the adult sermon. I have found that…

  • When God Calls Kids

    On September 26th, I will be facilitating a breakout session at the KidzMatter Conference in Evansville, IN called “When God Calls Kids: Helping Kids Discern and Grow in Their Callings.” If you’re going, come find me on Thursday at 4:30pm in Locust D at the conference! Check out my free resources from my talk right…

  • Out of the Mouths of Children

    “Out of the Mouths of Children” Sermon from Sunday, April 21, 2024 Dr. Jesse Joyner *Scripture passages are from the NIV unless otherwise noted. Matthew 21:6 “…and they said to him, ‘Do you hear what these are saying?’ And Jesus said to them, ‘Yes; have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of infants and…