Bedtime Listening Exercise

Note to Prayer Leader: Here is an excellent idea that you can photo copy and give to the parents of younger children in your church. When you photocopy, the permission statement must be included on the page.)

Convert Bedtime Prayers into Listening Prayers

By Brad Jersak

Most parents are used to walking their children through some standard prayers at bedtime. It's not difficult to convert these rituals into three-way conversational prayers between you, your child, and Jesus. You can ask the questions, the Lord will provide the answer to your child, and your child can report it back to you. This format can become a natural pattern for family prayer. Here ar some starter questions you may want to try:

• Jesus, is there anything today that we could thank you for? Why?
• Is there anything that we need to say sorry for? Will you forgive me?
• Is there anyone you want us to pray for? How? (Family, friend and misisonary photo albums are terrific for this. So are atlases or missions handbooks that give children a global vision.)
• Are there any burdens we are carrying that you want to lift for us? If so, ask Jesus where the burden came from, what it is, and if He would please remove it.
• Jesus, do you have any promises or blessings for me before I go to sleep?
• Bonus question: Jesus, what was the best part of your day? What made you happy?

For years, my son Stephen was an insomniac. By the time he was eight, he was able to ruin a good night's sleep by mulling over worries. He would commonly lie awake in bed for several hours before settling down to sleep. But after a profound meeting with the Lord, he learned a way to easily fall asleep. He devised a scheme in which he gathers up all the day's problems in prayer and jams them into one little knapsack. The Lord places it on the ground and sets it on fire. The image of the living Christ by the Cross is the resting place for Stepehen's anxiety and his weary head.

Taken from: Brad Jersak, Can You Hear Me? Used by permission. Can You Hear Me? and Children, Can You Hear Me? are available for purchase at www.prayershop.org or at the CPLN member store. Permission is granted to further copy this idea for church use. Copy must include the above permission statement.

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