Play Alphabet Praise.
Forty energetic kids from kindergarten to fourth grade wiggled in their chairs for children's church one autumn Sunday. "Let's praise God from A to Z," I suggested. "He's so great and mighty we could describe Him all day, but we only have 45 minutes. So let's start with A. Raise your hand if you know something about God that starts with an A."
Hands shot up, "Awesome! God's awesome!" said Morgan.
"Able! He's able to do anything!" said Andrew.
"Authority," said a serious eight-year-old wearing glasses. "God has all the authority."
I wrote the words on a white board as fast as the kids called the words out. We finished with A, covered B, then started on C.
"Creator! Compassionate! Kind!" they called out. The kids surprised me with how much they knew about God. It took two Sundays to complete the whole alphabet and all the while we were praising God aloud for His wonderful attributes.
You can help your child create his own journal of God's names and character. Each page can feature a different letter of the alphabet and include verses about who God is. Encourage your child to write or draw his "favorite things" about God in the notebook.
Then choose one attribute to focus on each week and make that your center as you pray together as a family. You will never run out of attributes because God's character and nature is inexhaustible!
This is a key thing as children learn to know God and grow in prayer because "what comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us," wrote A.W. Tozer. He believed having a right concept of God was basic to living the Christian life. And to usher power into our prayers, he said we must begin to think of God and praise God more nearly as He is.
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