The homepage of family and friends of LifePoint Church, Lanigan, Saskatchewan, Canada
Thursday, January 06, 2011
TEACHING KIDS TO PRAY
I read this article by by Tina Houser (publications director for KidzMatter who lives in Atlanta USA), who is encouragin parent to be active in teaching our kids to pray. As we begin a new year, I would encourage you to be active in praying and in teaching your kids to pray.
What do do think of her ideas?
As a child, I remember that every day closed with one of my parents sitting on the side of my bed, the covers pulled up under my chin, and me muttering...
Now I lay me down to sleep.
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
IF I SHOULD DIE BEFORE I WAKE,
I pray the Lord my soul to take.
Night after night after night after night, that third line sent chills through me. Most certainly, some frightened adult had written that prayer poem out of a desire of his heart, but it lived on to torture children all over the world, right before they went down for a restful night’s sleep. After a while, I just let the words tumble out of my mouth and tried not to think about what any of it actually meant. And this is one of the prominent ways we teach children to pray—a rhyme that is said over and over without real meaning to the child.
Another way we teach children to pray is nothing short of a Santa’s wish list. We ask children to share their requests, which is another way of saying, “Let’s tell God what you want Him to do for you.” They quickly rattle off a long “To Do” list of relatives and friends who are sick and pets that are missing. Then we acknowledge that God answers prayer only if God does it the way we’ve suggested. This may come as a surprise, but God really answers every prayer. His answers are of such a wide variety that we can’t even imagine the possibilities. It’s an every day occurrence, though, to hear someone say, “God still answers prayer,” when what they mean is, “God answered in the way I wanted Him to.”
Is this how we should teach our children to pray? Scary prayers? Prayers that fall from their tongues without thought? Prayers that find themselves alongside nursery rhymes? Prayers that instruct God exactly what He’s supposed to do for us? What would your best friend think if every time you spoke with him, you just said the same rhyme? And she most certainly wouldn’t stick around as your friend if all you ever talked to her about was what you wanted her to do for you. Something needs to change in the way we teach our children to pray.
We’re just downright good at getting ourselves into messes and then praying that God will get us out of them somehow. Instead of praying for deliverance from the mess, what if we started teaching our children to pray in the middle of the mess, not with their minds set on deliverance, but simply asking God to help them see how they can grow in His wisdom by going through it? How about praying for the strength to make it through to the other side?
If you look back on your life and identify the times when you grew spiritually—those times when spiritual growth seemed to come in leaps and bounds—I venture to say that it was in times of struggle. It was during those times when there were more questions about life than there were answers that you felt God moving in your life in a tremendous way. That’s when you saw miracles happen. That’s when you found yourself resting in His presence. Through those times, spiritual truth became clearer. So why do we shy away from that? Why do we pray that we never have to experience it? Why do we teach our children to pray safe prayers that if answered in the way they are prayed would only keep them from searching for God’s truth and His plan for their lives?
As a newlywed, 34 years ago, I woke my husband up in the middle of the night to ask him a question, “Why do we need to pray if God already knows everything?” I was content to ask the question then roll over and go back to sleep. My husband, on the other hand, wrestled with the question the rest of the night. Over the years, we’ve come back to that conversation, and it’s been a growing time.
So why do we pray? It’s about coming into His presence. It’s about being part of a relationship that is alive and full of meaning. I’ve talked to a lot of children’s workers, and they all hang their heads in unison when I talk about those times when we look up and see parents at the door. We put our words in high speed and quickly tell the kids to bow their heads and close their eyes so we can pray. While you have your head bowed, the kids are putting their jackets on and not at all thinking about spending time in the presence of God. That sure doesn’t feel like leading the children to a relationship that is alive and full. The Lord deserves an apology.
One of the first things you can do to elevate the importance of prayer is change where it falls in your time with the kids. We open with a ceremonial prayer and then close haphazardly. The children know what to expect so their brains experience something similar to the sound that depicts the off-screen teacher on the Charlie Brown cartoons … blah-blah-blah-blah-blah. Think about the ways you experience a friend. You share a meal together. You go to a game with rowdy fans together. You sit with him in silence as he grieves the loss of a loved one. You sing karaoke with her. You sit quietly on a dock waiting for a fish to bite. We need to teach our kids that there are an endless number of ways they can experience the presence of God through prayer.
Prayer is a spiritual discipline, and like other disciplines, it needs to be practiced and experienced on a regular basis in order to become something that we can’t imagine living without. So our challenge is to give children an opportunity to experience the presence of God in different ways. They need to be shown how each time they engage in a conversation with God, it can be new and fresh. Prayer should be a time of evaluation, when each person makes a conscious effort to identify their spiritual condition and expose that before the Lord.
The best way to teach kids to pray is to help them understand that there is no set place or position or time of day. Since God is omnipresent and prayer is experiencing the presence of God, then anywhere, any time, any position is in fair territory. Let me just get your creative juices flowing with these prompting ideas.
Let John the Baptist help you pray. When John was in the wilderness, he told the people that: (1) they needed to confess their sins, (2) they needed to exchange their old lives for a new one, (3) they needed to be baptized, (4) they needed to stay on track, and (5) they needed to live authentic lives. Help the kids identify where they are in these five points. If they need to confess their sins (point #1), then tell them to put one finger of one hand in the palm of the other hand. If they have asked the Lord to forgive them of their sins, but need help staying on track so they don’t slide back into those old habits (point #4), then tell them to put four fingers of one hand in the palm of the other hand. Each point gives them a way to talk to the Lord about where they are spiritually.
Pray like Daniel. Daniel’s disobedience to King Nebuchadnezzar’s law was obvious because he prayed three times a day at his window. When Daniel prayed, he was unashamed. He didn’t care what other people thought of him. He only knew that he was devoted to God. You probably have a window in your worship room and most kids have a window in their bedroom. Use a Crayola window marker to write on the window. You can simply write, “Pray Today” on the window, or the kids can actually write out their prayer in its entirety on the window. Then kneel down at that window and look to the sky. Concentrating on the sky will act as a focal point and help kids clear their minds of other thoughts.
Pray like Moses. When Moses heard of Koreh’s plans of rebellion, the Bible tells us that Moses’ first reaction was to drop to the ground and pray. So instruct the kids to kneel all the way and bend over with their faces to the floor. Teach the children that when they are threatened by anything, they can pray like Moses and lay themselves before God.
Pray with the unseen paper clip. Lay a paper clip on the table. Cover the paper clip with your hand so you can feel it under your knuckles. Then place a bar magnet over your knuckles. Slowly lift your hand with the bar magnet still against the knuckles. The paper clip will hang from the palm of your hand as long as the magnet stays in place. You can’t see the paper clip hanging there, but you can feel the power of the magnet. Pray that even though we can’t see where God is leading, we will always feel God’s presence. Seeing this object lesson will give the kids a way to associate with God leading them in ways they can’t see.
Pray a color. This is especially good with younger children. Pull one crayon from a full box. Thank God for everything you can think of that is that color. Smother God with thankfulness prayers of a particular color. That seems like a much better way to say goodnight than “IF I SHOULD DIE BEFORE I WAKE.”
Let’s raise this generation of kids to feel at ease with prayer and know it as a real conversation, not just a rhyme or a give-me list. Let’s raise them to not be afraid of going through any life situation, because God will be with them and teach them great spiritual truth on the journey.
What do do think of her ideas?
As a child, I remember that every day closed with one of my parents sitting on the side of my bed, the covers pulled up under my chin, and me muttering...
Now I lay me down to sleep.
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
IF I SHOULD DIE BEFORE I WAKE,
I pray the Lord my soul to take.
Night after night after night after night, that third line sent chills through me. Most certainly, some frightened adult had written that prayer poem out of a desire of his heart, but it lived on to torture children all over the world, right before they went down for a restful night’s sleep. After a while, I just let the words tumble out of my mouth and tried not to think about what any of it actually meant. And this is one of the prominent ways we teach children to pray—a rhyme that is said over and over without real meaning to the child.
Another way we teach children to pray is nothing short of a Santa’s wish list. We ask children to share their requests, which is another way of saying, “Let’s tell God what you want Him to do for you.” They quickly rattle off a long “To Do” list of relatives and friends who are sick and pets that are missing. Then we acknowledge that God answers prayer only if God does it the way we’ve suggested. This may come as a surprise, but God really answers every prayer. His answers are of such a wide variety that we can’t even imagine the possibilities. It’s an every day occurrence, though, to hear someone say, “God still answers prayer,” when what they mean is, “God answered in the way I wanted Him to.”
Is this how we should teach our children to pray? Scary prayers? Prayers that fall from their tongues without thought? Prayers that find themselves alongside nursery rhymes? Prayers that instruct God exactly what He’s supposed to do for us? What would your best friend think if every time you spoke with him, you just said the same rhyme? And she most certainly wouldn’t stick around as your friend if all you ever talked to her about was what you wanted her to do for you. Something needs to change in the way we teach our children to pray.
We’re just downright good at getting ourselves into messes and then praying that God will get us out of them somehow. Instead of praying for deliverance from the mess, what if we started teaching our children to pray in the middle of the mess, not with their minds set on deliverance, but simply asking God to help them see how they can grow in His wisdom by going through it? How about praying for the strength to make it through to the other side?
If you look back on your life and identify the times when you grew spiritually—those times when spiritual growth seemed to come in leaps and bounds—I venture to say that it was in times of struggle. It was during those times when there were more questions about life than there were answers that you felt God moving in your life in a tremendous way. That’s when you saw miracles happen. That’s when you found yourself resting in His presence. Through those times, spiritual truth became clearer. So why do we shy away from that? Why do we pray that we never have to experience it? Why do we teach our children to pray safe prayers that if answered in the way they are prayed would only keep them from searching for God’s truth and His plan for their lives?
As a newlywed, 34 years ago, I woke my husband up in the middle of the night to ask him a question, “Why do we need to pray if God already knows everything?” I was content to ask the question then roll over and go back to sleep. My husband, on the other hand, wrestled with the question the rest of the night. Over the years, we’ve come back to that conversation, and it’s been a growing time.
So why do we pray? It’s about coming into His presence. It’s about being part of a relationship that is alive and full of meaning. I’ve talked to a lot of children’s workers, and they all hang their heads in unison when I talk about those times when we look up and see parents at the door. We put our words in high speed and quickly tell the kids to bow their heads and close their eyes so we can pray. While you have your head bowed, the kids are putting their jackets on and not at all thinking about spending time in the presence of God. That sure doesn’t feel like leading the children to a relationship that is alive and full. The Lord deserves an apology.
One of the first things you can do to elevate the importance of prayer is change where it falls in your time with the kids. We open with a ceremonial prayer and then close haphazardly. The children know what to expect so their brains experience something similar to the sound that depicts the off-screen teacher on the Charlie Brown cartoons … blah-blah-blah-blah-blah. Think about the ways you experience a friend. You share a meal together. You go to a game with rowdy fans together. You sit with him in silence as he grieves the loss of a loved one. You sing karaoke with her. You sit quietly on a dock waiting for a fish to bite. We need to teach our kids that there are an endless number of ways they can experience the presence of God through prayer.
Prayer is a spiritual discipline, and like other disciplines, it needs to be practiced and experienced on a regular basis in order to become something that we can’t imagine living without. So our challenge is to give children an opportunity to experience the presence of God in different ways. They need to be shown how each time they engage in a conversation with God, it can be new and fresh. Prayer should be a time of evaluation, when each person makes a conscious effort to identify their spiritual condition and expose that before the Lord.
The best way to teach kids to pray is to help them understand that there is no set place or position or time of day. Since God is omnipresent and prayer is experiencing the presence of God, then anywhere, any time, any position is in fair territory. Let me just get your creative juices flowing with these prompting ideas.
Let John the Baptist help you pray. When John was in the wilderness, he told the people that: (1) they needed to confess their sins, (2) they needed to exchange their old lives for a new one, (3) they needed to be baptized, (4) they needed to stay on track, and (5) they needed to live authentic lives. Help the kids identify where they are in these five points. If they need to confess their sins (point #1), then tell them to put one finger of one hand in the palm of the other hand. If they have asked the Lord to forgive them of their sins, but need help staying on track so they don’t slide back into those old habits (point #4), then tell them to put four fingers of one hand in the palm of the other hand. Each point gives them a way to talk to the Lord about where they are spiritually.
Pray like Daniel. Daniel’s disobedience to King Nebuchadnezzar’s law was obvious because he prayed three times a day at his window. When Daniel prayed, he was unashamed. He didn’t care what other people thought of him. He only knew that he was devoted to God. You probably have a window in your worship room and most kids have a window in their bedroom. Use a Crayola window marker to write on the window. You can simply write, “Pray Today” on the window, or the kids can actually write out their prayer in its entirety on the window. Then kneel down at that window and look to the sky. Concentrating on the sky will act as a focal point and help kids clear their minds of other thoughts.
Pray like Moses. When Moses heard of Koreh’s plans of rebellion, the Bible tells us that Moses’ first reaction was to drop to the ground and pray. So instruct the kids to kneel all the way and bend over with their faces to the floor. Teach the children that when they are threatened by anything, they can pray like Moses and lay themselves before God.
Pray with the unseen paper clip. Lay a paper clip on the table. Cover the paper clip with your hand so you can feel it under your knuckles. Then place a bar magnet over your knuckles. Slowly lift your hand with the bar magnet still against the knuckles. The paper clip will hang from the palm of your hand as long as the magnet stays in place. You can’t see the paper clip hanging there, but you can feel the power of the magnet. Pray that even though we can’t see where God is leading, we will always feel God’s presence. Seeing this object lesson will give the kids a way to associate with God leading them in ways they can’t see.
Pray a color. This is especially good with younger children. Pull one crayon from a full box. Thank God for everything you can think of that is that color. Smother God with thankfulness prayers of a particular color. That seems like a much better way to say goodnight than “IF I SHOULD DIE BEFORE I WAKE.”
Let’s raise this generation of kids to feel at ease with prayer and know it as a real conversation, not just a rhyme or a give-me list. Let’s raise them to not be afraid of going through any life situation, because God will be with them and teach them great spiritual truth on the journey.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Merry Christmas and God Bless you in 2011
From all of us at LifePoint Church
Isaiah 9:6
"For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
Thursday, December 16, 2010
“When The Power Went Out”
Ministerial message by Pastor Kevin Sawatsky
Last week something happened in the midst of all the hustle, rush and bustle of the day and of the season… the power went out. Not sure what happened but I heard someone hit a power pole and they had to turn off all the electricity to fix it. So for one hour or so we had no electrical power in town. Now I know that the power going off for only 1 hour is not a big deal as houses were able to keep their warmth and refrigerators stay cool. It is true that it would not have taken too much longer without power and we would have had a serious situation on our hands. On side note, I was taken back at how ill prepared many are to handle a situation like this these days. Emergency items often are not close at hand and trying to remember where they are or to find them in the dark did not work so well. Just a few years ago, no electricity was normal and people did very well I might add. Life was more physically difficult for sure but they were a hardy people and not only survived a time without electricity but thrived. We have much to be thankful to that generation that paved the way for us to enjoy the lifestyle and the comforts we have today. Though in these days we depend on electricity A LOT and when we loose it, even for only one hour, we notice just how much we trust and depend on it. May I ask a question? What do you do for that hour when there was NO power? You couldn’t shop, work, buy gas, play on computers, watch TV or listen to the radio, play hockey or do much of anything we do daily now. So again, what did you do? Did you read? Did you rest, did you take some time to think or pray? Maybe you just sat down for a little while? When the power went out I, eventually, jumped in my car to go check on a few people in town just to make sure they were ok. They were. As I did, I noticed several other people doing the same thing and was thankful for them. It is times like this that we remember how much we need each other and how important people are. It was kind of strange to me to be driving around town as there were no lights on. The whole town seemed to feel abandoned except for the faint lights in the inside of the homes. There was no smoke rising from any houses (except those with wood fireplaces) and it was so quiet. When I got back home, I walked with my son over to another person’s house to just check in with them. As I was walking, it stuck me at how wonderful a gift this was to us. To be given an hour when I really had no where I could to be, no meeting to be at, nothing I could purchase and nothing that I could do about it. It was a gift of time… how wonderful. As I walked, the town was so quiet and the faint glow of the setting sun in the clouds filled the sky. It was beautiful. I wondered if the first Christmas felt like something like this. Mary, Joseph and their new born baby resting for a moment in a humble stable in great peace and joy. Just a short moment to reflect and be quiet within the presence of the living God… how wonderful. As the realization of what we all were experiencing began to fill my heart, I was so thankful for the gift of God, Jesus. He came to bring peace and joy and hope in the midst of all that we think is important in this life. He came so we could live in His presence everyday of our lives. He came to bring peace to our souls. He came to forgive and love and help us in this journey of life. Thank the Lord. Yes, the words of the angels are still true to this day…
“And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. … And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” ( Luke 2)Jesus came to bring great joy, peace and goodwill toward men. Glory to God in the highest! Soon the power came back on and everything has gone back to normal. It is my prayer for you that not everything will be as it was before when the power went out. Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
If you are alone on Christmas Day....
Many people in this region are alone on Christmas day so we thought it might be fun to get us all together and have a meal, because no one should eat by themselves on Christmas day!
You are welcome just let our office know to expect you and come at about 2:00P.M. (306.365.2465)
There is NO cost for the meal, but donations are gratefully accepted the help cover the expenses of the day.
JOY TO THE WORLD THE LORD IS COME...
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
CHRISTMAS DRAMA!! THIS SUNDAY
JOIN US for our annual Christmas Drama at 6:00 P.M.With special music and dance PLUS a wonderful play put on by the teens and children of LPC...
ALL WELCOME...
Saturday, December 04, 2010
To God be the Glory!!!
At twelve noon today we completed 24 hours of non stop prayer! A good group gathered at LPC and raised their voices in thanksgiving and praise. It was fantastic.
I pray that the time you had with the Lord was uplifting and empowering.
Please take some time to express to us what the Lord said or did in your life as in response to our seeking the Lord.
"Thank you Lord for meeting with us as we sought your face"
Early in the Morning My Song Shall Rise to Thee
Job 1:5 (New Living Translation)
5 " When these celebrations ended—sometimes after several days—Job would purify his children. He would get up early in the morning and offer a burnt offering for each of them. For Job said to himself, “Perhaps my children have sinned and have cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular practice."
Arising early to seek God for others is something that people have done for 1000s of years... Tonight as we are in the hardest part of the 24 hours... the early time of day, people are waiting on the Lord for others just Job did here in this passage.
This scripture is amazing even without knowing what we know about the book of Job. Job was so concerned for his kids; the next generation and their relationship before the Lord that he would leave his warm bed, on a regular basis, and go to God on behalf of them. He did this just in case they "sinned" against God. This is what it means to interceed (intersession prayer ministry). Intersession is to going to God on behalf of someone else... and he did this in the early part of the day.
As people right now are praying and have been doing so all night and seeking the Lord for others, we are following a long held pattern and spiritual discipline. It is amazing to think that these are many people who are have been seeking God for you while you were sleeping, just a Job did for his kids while they were recovering from a party. Job was asking God to forgive and watch over them. We have been doing the same for you in the region. You have been on our heart and we have been praying for you in the early hour...
God already has done some powerful things as we are into our 19th hour of NON stop 24 hours of prayer. I am expecting to hear MANY more reports in the hours and days to come what all God has done in response to His people praying without cessing for one day!
Mark 1:35
In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there.
In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there.
Stay tuned!!
Thursday, December 02, 2010
ONE DAY AWAY
Hello everyone,
It is now one day from when we begin our 24 hours of NON STOP prayer at LPC. I have great expectation in my heart as we set ourselves towards this call.
COULD we ask you all to please make sure that you sign up to pray for at least 15 min on the schedule (here in the office)? We want to make sure that the whole 24 hours be covered with at least one person praying. I am sure that there will be many times that more than one person will be seeking the Lord which is awesome. Please call the office to find out what times are still open, which are still several at this time.
PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING:
· The Denniss Chapel will be open for the whole 24 hours so please feel free to come to LPC at ANYTIME night or day .
· At Noon on Saturday we will wind up the 24 hours with a time of worship and praise thanking God for the great things He did in response to the time of prayer. I hope you can make it here to join in on the celebration.
· Please feel free to send in your prayer requests and they will be added to those that have already been received.
· A prayer guide will be sent out today as a help direct our praying together. It will also be posted on the this blog
· The blog will be updated with prayer requests and praise reports that come in throughout the 24 hours of prayer. Please feel free to add comments/requests and praise reports in the blog comments section.
As 1 Chronicles 22:19 says "Now set your heart and your soul to seek the LORD your God...”. That is God’s invitation to us all.. will you heed the call and pray?
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
Twenty Four Hours of Prayer
This WEEKEND is the 24 Hour prayer event beginning midday Friday, till midday SATURDAY. The scripture calls us to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess 5:17), so for 24 hours we will do that as a church family… ONE FULL DAY of nonstop prayer and intercession. We are encouraging everyone who calls LPC home, to please sign up (on the board in the office) for at least ONE of the 15 min slots over those 24 hours.
There will be a prayer guide published on the Blog later this week (and emailed), as well as, we will have ongoing praise updates and prayer requests posted on the blog throughout the 24 hours.
PLEASE NOTE: If you have something you would like us all to pray for… PLEASE send it to us, as a list is being made. The church will be open for the whole night and we will end, Saturday at noon, with a time of worship!
EVERYONE is welcome to gather, as we approach the noon hour, to end the time of prayer with explosive praise! So, please, sign up today so that the prayer chain is NOT broken…
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