Sometimes when incorporating classroom prayer into the lesson plan, Bible teachers can run into issues. We’ve already looked at the question: How can we get shy people to pray aloud? Here we’ll look at another problem.
Question about Classroom Prayer
What do I do if my students view prayer time as dull or boring?
The response to this question begins with another question. — Why? If we figure that out then it’s a matter of rectifying the reason for this perception.
- Perhaps it the predictability of prayer time. If so, we can vary both when and how we pray during class. Don’t always begin or end with prayer. And, introduce some creative and interactive ways of praying rather than making it always be about listening to the teacher or someone else pray..
- Or, it could be the spiritual condition of students’ hearts. If they don’t have a true relationship with the Lord, or one that’s fervent and growing, prayer won’t tend to be meaningful. Help them get to know God better and keep the focus on the God to whom they’re praying. He is the Lord of lords and King of kings, the Almighty, the One of whom there is none greater. He loves us unconditionally and wants to be in an ongoing, personal relationship with us. Until people sense that He is a God worthy of their trust and devotion, prayer will simply be a duty that has little significance.
You’ll find two more reasons praying might seem dull or boring in the Bible Teacher’s Handbook of Frequently Asked Questions which also response to this question about classroom prayer:
How can we get shy people to pray aloud?
The handbook looks at 49 different issues related to Bible teaching asking a total of 153 questions.
I have only briefly looked over this written material. What I have looked over has truly encouraged me as a teacher who is a pressing believing believer in Christ. Thank you and this team for taking the time to put your information in writing, for years I have trained our volunteers in this manner and the information material is so similar.
You are welcome. We can have much in common when our focus is on the Lord and His Word. May God use you to His glory in your teaching!
Popcorn prayers work well with children. Like popcorn, kids pop up from sitting position with a sentence prayer. Accounts for short attention span and need for movement.
Thank you, Pat, for an example of creativity in how to pray as well as guarding the length of praying that keeps their attention. I too have used popcorn prayers with children and found it to be effective as well. The key in that and other creative ways of praying is to keep the focus on God and not just the activity itself. And, it’s important not to use it as the sole approach to praying in the classroom or it too may eventually lose its effectiveness in keeping prayer exciting.