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God Gave Us Prayer gives kids and parents a sweet and helpful model for learning to pray.
When Little Pup discovers Mama praying silently by the lake, he’s full of questions. What do we do when we pray, and what do we say? Do we only pray to tell God we love him, or are there other reasons to talk to God?
Mama gently answers every question, and Papa does too when he joins the conversation. Together they model four kinds of prayer: adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication (ACTS). The little family talks about God’s forgiveness, his provision and protection, and how he meets our needs and the needs of others when we pray.
Little Pup’s friends have questions about prayer too. Can we tell God about our feelings? What do we do when we don’t know what to say? When we’re worried, afraid, jealous or lonely? What if we’re too embarrassed by our bad decisions? Can we pray to be the best student in class or the best on our team? Does God heal sick people when we pray? Can we pray to be more like Jesus?
As she answers these questions, Mama suggests sample prayers, and there are prayer prompts for kids to personalize.
Most picture books that are primarily conversations fall flat. The conversations in this book (and all the God Gave Us series) avoid that pitfall because they flow so naturally and fit the action in the illustrations so well. Mama and Papa are excellent models for any parent wondering how to answer their children’s questions about prayer. Plus, their prayers throughout the book provide wonderful examples for us all.
One of my favorite parts of the book:
“If God knows everything,” Little Pup asked, even what’s in our hearts and minds, why do we need to say anything at all?”
“Well, I know a lot about you, and you know a lot about me,” Mama said. “What if we never said anything to each other? How would that feel?”
“Kinda lonely,” he admitted.
“Right. God wants a relationship with us, so he want to hear from us!
Little Pup takes Mama and Papa’s teaching and example to heart and proves he’s a good learner when he prays. Children who read God Gave Us Prayer will want to do the same. I highly recommend this book! The suggested age range of 3-7 feels right to me.
God Gave Us Prayer
written by Lisa Tawn Bergren, illustrated by David Holm
published by WaterBrook (2021)
hardcover picture book, 56 pages, 8.7 x 0.4 x 8.8 inches
Making God’s wonders known to the next generation,