What age did you first start praying? I shared a room with my sister and I remember we both learnt different bedtime prayers, which we would take turns each night to say. I can still quote mine today and just thinking of it instantly recalls the illustration that ran alongside it – Jesus walking, holding the hand of a small child and looking down at him. The image and the words instantly bring back a sense of closeness and belonging. This is what I would like to pass to my children, so the hunt for a book of prayers (yes, I still have mine but its a bit tatty now) has been on for a while. Rebecca Winter’s Prayers for Children is a wonderfully illustrated, meticulously compiled book of prayers. Written for older children (I reckon from six years up) it immediately acknowledges and addresses what we all remember, the tendency to use our childhood prayers to do ‘deals’ with God.
There are hundreds of prayers, the traditional and the new, those from the UK and those from across the world. There are prayers that don’t mince words, that reflect children’s questioning: ‘Why the collapsing buildings/Why the dying people/Why when they had so little/Why should they have nothing?’
And though I was sad ‘my’ prayer isn’t included (though my sister’s, Jesus Tender Shepherd Hear Me, is) this is a wonderful resource for youngsters. Definitely one for our bookshelves!
Lion Book of Prayers for Children Rebecca Winter/ Helen Cann, Lion, £10.99 - Order Online
