My Tender Heart Prayer Book
I find it ironic that adults will often comment that they don’t know how to pray when just about every young child I know will pray with the most beautiful authenticity. I am always honored when I get to pray alongside them, because they enrich my prayer life immeasurably, just because they notice what I do not and bring it to God. And when they seem unsure about how to pray, they seem to easily find the words when they have just a wee bit of prompting. That’s why I was excited to have My Tender Heart Prayer Book by Laura Sassi appear from the publisher- a new resource to help children add to their already rich spiritual toolboxes.
My Tender Heart Prayer Book contains 20 little prayers, written around themes and situations that are accessible to the youngest of children. Each prayer is written in gentle rhyme and supported by beautiful, soft illustrations that are inclusive of God’s beautiful people. A Scripture reference heads up each prayer, and the page closes with a heart moment that encourages the children to apply the theme of the prayer to their everyday lives. The pages stand alone, providing children and families with developmentally appropriate readings and prayers for these youngest of God’s children. The topics are part of a child’s everyday life, allowing children to find new avenues for prayer, building their prayer toolboxes. Parents will find these useful, providing words to help them get the habit of prayer into their family’s daily rhythm.
This little volume has a bunch of uses in your ministry. It would make a wonderful gift for families that include toddlers and preschoolers. You can have it as part of the rotation of books for your pew baskets, as well as having a copy to lend out to families. These prayers would be a wonderful way to close a Sunday School session or a time of bedtime stories and prayers. I would bring this to a grandparents group and have them use it as a way to spur prayers with their grandchildren. If you have a nursery school ministry, this would make a lovely gift for each classroom, and would also be a lovely resource for chapel time with the classes. Keep an eye out for this little book- there are lots of ways you can use it!
