Swap Shop is a place to exchange ideas for activities in Sunday school; share your success stories in teaching the Bible to children; and provide ways to foster a love for the Bible.

Swap Shop — A fifth grade Sunday school teacher shares the work of her class on praying daily.

Pray without ceasing… you’ve got to be kidding.

My Sunday school class of 5th and 6th graders thought praying without ceasing was cruel and unusual punishment until they tried it.

While one student was reading I Thessalonians 5:17 – “Pray without ceasing,” another student started to giggle and said, “Yeah, right when’s that going to happen?” This question began a 10-week discussion on why to pray without ceasing and how to pray.

The students poured out their complaints about how hard it would be to follow that Bible verse, but they finally talked themselves into trying it for a week. When they realized it was not a case of being on bended knees with your eyes closed all day along, but an attitude of thought that lifted the atmosphere everywhere they went, they were ready to practice it in small amounts.

They were all asked to take 5 minutes a day to conscientiously pray. It didn’t matter what they said or did, but they were to get a conversation going with God. They were asked to do this for two weeks and then we’d assess our progress. The teacher was to do 30 minutes a day. The students and the teacher found that in the first few days it seemed to be a chore, but then some wonderful things started happening.

One girl told the class that she was having trouble in school. She earnestly prayed to be a better student. “Once I got the conversation going with God, five minutes was nothing. I found myself talking to Him in the shower, doing my hair, getting dressed, riding on the bus, even standing in line for lunch. I started to feel better about myself and the work I was doing. When grades came around, I had a C+, a B and the rest were A’s. I was relieved about the grades, but it wasn’t a big deal. I love what is happening to me and my relationship with God.”

Another member of the class was faced with a difficult family situation. She said, “Before we started praying everyday, I would have hid under the bed before facing some of the problems at home. But now I feel confident to take everything to God, including my Mom and Dad.”

Yet another 5th grader said, “When do we start on 10 minutes?” The class responded, “When??? You mean you haven’t started already?” One girl said, “Oh I was at ten minutes after the first few days; now I don’t need to time myself, I’m just comfortable talking to God.”

Every two weeks we check on each other’s progress. The change in behavior, conversation, and commitment is strikingly different since we started this project. One parent commented, “My daughter is expressing more confidence and joy. She’s fun to be around.”

You can’t miss the upbeat attitude of each member of the class. I highly recommend working with any age group on dedicating time for prayer.

GAL