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Creating a Lent Prayer Station {for kids}

March 10, 2016

I grew up in the Methodist denomination. On Ash Wednesday we would go to church and the pastor would paint crosses of ash on our foreheads. We waved real palm branches on Palm Sunday and paraded giant purple banners on Easter. The Methodists, like the Catholics and other traditional denominations, have some deeply rooted spiritual traditions that enrich the experience of the season.

What I appreciated most was the preparation of the heart for the sacred celebration of Easter Sunday. We didn’t just show up to church on Easter, we built up for it all month long. I now attend a non-denominational church where these rituals are not practiced, but I still value the 40 day process that helps unearth the deep truths of Easter. Of being Easter people.

And I want my kids to have that same experience.

Lent Prayer Station

This year I decided to set up a little table as our “Lent Prayer Station.” The instructions are simple and it requires only a few minutes of time:

  • Light the candle
  • Read the scripture or say it out loud
  • Say the prayer

Light the Candle

I love that each child can do it when he/she gets up in the morning, whenever that is.  It allows them to take their own initiative.  Lighting the candle has turned out to be a key component of the station – they like that part!

Journaling Option:

The journaling part works best with older children and is totally optional.  I write down 2-3 questions surrounding the prayer or scripture in the journal. I also write a possible sacrifice or Lent addition for the day. I don’t make them do it, as I want it to come from an internal motivation, but we talk about it as a family and encourage it. With kids, I find that doing something different each day is more doable than doing one thing for forty days!

I Have Provided 36 Prayers

I have 36 different short prayers – the last four you get to create as a family – make your own last four prayers and make them really personal to YOU.

 For the printables, you can pre-cut them into squares and they are ready to go, or glue one on each page of a journal and walk through Lent that way.  You could also do this as a family at dinner and light the candle and read it then.   You can get creative with how you use these!

Download the Lent Prayer Cards

I pray you will be blessed as you lead your children toward their own journey with Jesus this Easter season!

UPDATE:

Now that my kids are teenagers, I find that reading these together at dinner, or leaving one out for each child to take with him or her each day to school is a great way for them to carry Lent with them.  This also allow them to apply it in their own way.

MAY THIS BE A JOY-FILLED & HOLY SEASON FOR YOU!

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  1. Larissa says:

    I love this!

  2. Erin says:

    I would love to check out your downloads for the “Creating a Lent Prayer Station for Kids” but when I click on any of the links I get some kind of error page in Chinese. Any way I can get access to these downloads? I would really appreciate it!
    Thanks!

  3. Andrea says:

    Hi. I noticed this post is quite old, but I stumbled here from Pinterest. It showed this beautiful image of cards that could be printed for the Lenten prayer station. However, when I’m clicking the links it takes me to some Chinese page that does not look safe (I also could not get your site to give a secure connection). Is there another way I can access these? I signed up for the free downloads hoping it was in there, but I don’t see it.

    • Krista says:

      Hi Andrea. I’m so sorry the post was outdated! It is all fixed and the downloads are ready. Hope you can use them!

  4. Melissa Zastrow says:

    Hi! Love your Lenten prayer cards. I am only seeing 36 cards instead of the 40 mentioned in your post. Am I missing something? I can certainly find 4 more verses on my own but thought I’d check in. Thanks for the lovely idea!!

  5. Jeanie says:

    Hi! This is just what I need, but I can’t get past the verification page. I promise I am not a robot!

  6. Anna says:

    Hi! I love love love this idea! When I went to download the prayers there are only 9 is there a way to get all 40? Or did I do something wrong? Thank-you.

  7. Kim says:

    HI Krista,
    I am unable to unlock the prayers? How would I do that?

  8. Krista, This is so wonderful! I just had to include your prayer cards and a link to your blog in this month’s email. We send out a monthly interactive prayer email to active our community. Thank you for your work in the Kingdom.
    From: Decatur House of Prayer.

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