It seems like we were celebrating the start of 2020 just yesterday. In reality, it’s been nearly two months! We’re already to Ash Wednesday and Lent. Though I’m not Catholic (or part of a Protestant tradition that follows the liturgical calendar), I believe that all Christians can benefit from observing the various seasons of the liturgical cycle. If you’re curious about this, you can check out the post I wrote last year about why all Christians can benefit from Lent, the solemn period of reflection, purification, and penance that precedes Easter.
Prayer is an important aspect of Lent. It’s also, in my opinion, one of the easiest ways to get kids involved in observing Lent. One thing that has been helpful to me as I pray during Lent is to use a Lenten prayer calendar (see links to a couple of examples in this post). This year, I’ve created a kid-friendly Lenten prayer calendar to assist my kids in spending a little extra time in prayer.
Instead of giving them a traditional calendar with prayer points printed on it, I’ve made a paper chain with one link for each day of Lent. I’ve written a prayer point on each link. We’ll remove one link from the chain each day and pray for the topic written on it. This will help us pray for a wide variety of needs as we move towards Easter.
Prayer points for Lent
Different denominations calculate the days of Lent differently. For the sake of simplicity, I’ve included one prayer point for each day beginning Ash Wednesday and ending Easter Sunday. Here are the prayer points I’ve written on our paper chain prayer calendar:
- That God would help us take stock of our lives and identify places where we need to change
- That God would help us be compassionate and take action to serve those around us
- That Mommy and Daddy would have a strong marriage and be wise parents
- That Amaris, Nitara, and Gilana would all choose to trust in God and follow Him
- For peace in areas of the world where there is conflict
- For the residents of our neighborhood
- For leaders in intergovernmental organizations
- For Grandma and Mebop
- That we would “turn the other cheek” and that God would bless those who seek to harm us
- For people in and recovering from natural disasters
- For the families in our Bible study
- For leaders in the federal government
- For Granny
- That we would be good stewards of the gifts and resources God has given us
- For the missionaries we support
- For the churches in our community
- For leaders in the state government
- For Uncle A, Aunt K, Cousins M, J, and E
- That we would be content with what we have and find true joy in Jesus, not in things or experiences
- For those living in areas of the world where there is famine and extreme poverty
- For those in our community who are struggling with poverty and/or unemployment
- For leaders in the county government
- For Aunt B
- That we would have the courage to strike up conversations with people we don’t know so we can connect with them and tell them about God
- That we would be good stewards of the earth and the natural resources available to us
- For those in our community who are struggling with chronic illness
- For leaders in the city government
- For Uncle B and Aunt E
- That we would be generous and merciful to those around us
- That human trafficking would end, that justice would come for those who traffic others, and that healing would come for victims
- For those in our community who have been hurt by people of faith
- For leaders in our church
- For Uncle C and Cousins P, A, and A
- That we would take time to really listen to those around us and be compassionate to their needs
- For those in our community who are struggling with drug addiction
- That God would strengthen our leadership skills so we can lead in our spheres of influence
- For loved ones who don’t know God to come to know Him
- For families in our community who are experiencing divorce and/or are estranged from their loved ones
- For cities in our nation to find effective ways to end homelessness
- That violence in our communities would be replaced with mercy and love
- That we would have courage and boldness to share Jesus with those around us and to speak up for what is right
- For racial reconciliation in our community and nation
- For revival in our nation
- For our home to be a haven of peace for our family and to those who visit us
- That we would be aware of our sin and be quick to repent
- That our actions would be guided by love for God and love for others
- Thanksgiving for the Resurrection of Jesus!
As you can see, I’ve included prayer points that address a wide variety of individuals and issues (ourselves, loved ones, current events, government leaders, our community, other nations, etc.). If you use this idea for your kids, you will want to customize these so they are relevant to your family. You can use any paper to make this chain, but I prefer scrapbook paper (such as this pack of Spring Scrapbook Paper) so the chain has a festive look.
Do you spend more time in prayer during Lent? If so, what tools do you use to make this happen?
Shared at the following:
Encouraging Hearts and Home, Over the Moon, and Busy Monday.
What a beautifully visual way to engage your family in prayer! I love this idea, and wish I had done something like this with my own kids when they were young.
I’m focusing on prayer myself during this season, so we are sisters at the throne of grace.
It’s been very meaningful for us thus far. I pray your time in prayer is also meaningful.
Thank you for sharing at #OverTheMoon. Pinned and shared. Have a lovely week. I hope to see you at next week’s party too! Come party with us at Over The Moon! Catapult your content Over The Moon! @marilyn_lesniak @EclecticRedBarn
Thanks, Marilyn!