A Prayer for Children: Healing

Five ways to heal and thrive

The concepts of wounding and healing can be difficult for children to understand and navigate. Okay, for adults too!

Even with a straightforward physical injury, there are nuances during the mending process that can seem nonsensical or even frightening. Pain can get worse before it gets better; bruises emerge and change color; the area may feel hot, cold, or itchy—and sometimes there is no visual evidence that anything is happening, even when great strides are being made internally. On the emotional and spiritual level, trauma can be hard to heal, and its source can be difficult to pinpoint and treat. So what are we as guiding grown-ups to do?

Our journey through being human is filled with bumps and scrapes galore, both physical and psychological. It’s unrealistic to think we can prevent them all. More important than prevention is preparedness. We can teach ourselves and our children to be not only survivors but thrivers. This perspective on life changes everything about what happens after an injury, be it in body, mind, or spirit. Sounds good, you say, but how?

Becoming familiar with the anatomy of woundedness lets us know which parts of us need nurturing.

Practice Makes Progress

A thriver doesn’t simply meet life’s challenges with a positive attitude; it’s more of a shift in overall perception. Instead of asking, “Why me?” when hard times arrive, they ask, “How is this happening for me? What can I learn and how will this help me create a better future after I have made it through?” This outlook is crucial to thriving but doesn’t happen overnight or without effort.

We must build our resilience muscles and practice a routine of emotional and spiritual fitness to become proficient at thriving. What might that look like? Everyone has things that work best for them. Here are a few ideas to try out.

Five Ways to Help Healing and Start Thriving

1. Role-play losses.

What do we do if things don’t go our way? What can we hold on to if we feel off-balance, and where do we find support when we feel afraid or hurt? Explore these questions with your children. The insight they already carry might surprise you, and together you can map out routes to dealing with setbacks.

2. Feel it to heal it.

Be present to what you are experiencing. This is especially true of hurt feelings or emotional losses. Talk it through. What happened, where does it hurt, and what does the hurt feel like? Becoming familiar with the anatomy of woundedness lets us know which parts of us need nurturing.

3. Silence is golden.

Put the world on pause for at least 30 minutes each day. That can look like prayer, meditation, a quiet bath, a power nap, or even coloring or writing in a journal, just to name a few activities that can be done in silence. The idea is to connect with the Divine inside every day.

4. Gratitude is the attitude.

Whether it’s in a written list, spoken out loud, made into a song, or counted down from 10 to one, identifying things we love or consider blessings is a great way to stay focused on abundance and awe.

5. Self-care aware.

Do something every day that you love and that makes you feel special and vibrantly alive. Whether it’s a walk, listening to music, creating crafts, or simply daydreaming for a set amount of time, the more we care for ourselves, the healthier our attitude will be.

What ideas can you brainstorm as a family to help focus on feelings of wellness and contentment? Make it a priority to create a routine that you put into practice every day. It will pay big dividends in lives well-lived!

A Prayer for Prayer in All Children

Taking a deep breath, I envision fresh air moving through every cell of my body, bathing me in the energy of wholeness.

I feel the cleansing power of Spirit coursing through me so strongly that it spills forth. I picture it moving outward with each exhalation in great waves of love, light, and divine energy.

I see that energy expanding with every breath, sending this powerful force forward to touch every life on this planet—children and adults—with strength, perseverance, gratitude, and health. I imagine it settling everywhere it touches, taking root and growing.

I claim it to be so, and so it is.

A Shared Family Prayer for Prayer and Meditation

Together we hold a vision of wholeness for all beings. We imagine divine light traveling from our core, spreading outward and onward, making everything glow with the light of God. We see that light bringing hope, healing, joy, and love as it expands into infinity. As we envision it, it comes to be, and we are grateful.

Together We Affirm:

Did you know? All children are welcome to pray with Unity Prayer Ministry associates.