A Prayer for Children: Prayer and Meditation

Teaching the power of the pause

Our world can seem like such a whirlwind—with so much swirling and churning inside and around us—that at times it may seem the best we can do is hold on tightly until the storm passes.

But prayer and meditation give us a different perspective. They create a space where we can see the radiance of the raindrops and feel the wonder in the wind. We bend and bow with each gust, with no fear of breaking. We don’t fight the storm; we calm it.

The simple act of pausing changes what happens next … It allows us to savor cherished moments and let gratitude grow.

As guiding grown-ups, we want to give our children the very best resources to become strong, resilient, and most of all, happy. People who pray live purposeful lives. Those who meditate have an important tool to lower blood pressure and drastically decrease stress-related illnesses. More studies every day show mindfulness practices truly have the power to change us from the inside out, which ultimately has the potential to transform our world.

It is not simply praying that holds the key, however. It’s how.

In Unity we don’t pray to change what’s going on “out there.” We don’t beseech some outside force to fix things for us. We step inside ourselves and discover all we need is already there. Our affirmative style of prayer allows us to see everything differently. It gives us the power to meet all challenges with acceptance, flexibility, and resilience that transcend any circumstance.

The simple act of pausing changes what happens next. It has the potential to stop a tragedy in its tracks. It allows us to savor cherished moments and let gratitude grow.

To pause, we stop, take a deep breath in, and imagine we are awakening the divine energy in every cell of our bodies. Exhaling, we relax our muscles, feeling any tension loosening, welcoming the moment of choice we have created. Centering our awareness in our hearts, the Christ light at our core radiates outward beyond the confines of our skin and into the world around us.

Now awake to the presence of the Divine everywhere, we allow that energy to course through our veins and permeate our thoughts. We affirm the Divine is in every detail, whether we have the eyes to see it in this moment or not. We declare that we are open and ready to grow through anything, knowing it is for our ultimate good. Every inhale cleanses and purifies, and each exhale becomes an opportunity for release.

Lingering in that awareness brings us into meditation. Unattached to any thoughts or feelings that arise, we focus on our breath, our center, our divine light within. Even a few moments in this sacred space can shift the way an entire situation will play out. It’s nothing less than life changing.

Children who become proficient at this skill will surely become adults who don’t just survive but thrive.

A Prayer for Prayer in All Children

I pause. Breathing deeply the breath of God all around me, I awaken to my own divine essence.

I feel my heart open, and I visualize the heart of every child linked with mine. I send them love. I send them light. I see them opening to the Truth that every moment contains the energy of prayer, and I imagine them putting that energy to powerful use in their lives.

I envision a world powerfully changed moving forward, and I am grateful.

A Shared Family Prayer for Prayer and Meditation

As we take a cleansing, centering breath together, we remember we are each a part of the one presence and power that is present everywhere.

We feel the energy of oneness moving through us now, and we picture that energy moving outward from our family to touch every child, every family, every creature on this earth. We see all things awakening to the Divine within them, and we are grateful.

Breathing into the Silence for a moment, we imagine that awareness settling upon everything it reaches, creating waves of divine energy that flow throughout it all.

Grateful, we say Amen.

Together We Affirm:

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