Today’s devotion is really geared towards children.  Prayer beads can be a wonderful prayer tool for kids.  The shiny, colorful beads can draw children into prayer, get them excited about praying, help them feel connected to God, and also give them some structure for their prayers. 

When sharing prayer beads with children, it’s important for them to know:

  • There are no right or wrong ways to use prayer beads
  • They can use beads with prayers that your family already uses, or they can create or learn new ones
  • They can follow the beads to say their prayers, or they can just hold them in their hands and feel the comforting presence of God – this is especially helpful when they are feeling nervous or upset

We have created prayer bead designs specifically for children; you can check them out here.  But you can also get some beads and craft wire and let your child design his or her own set, using colors or bead shapes that are meaningful to them. 

Prayer Beads for Kids - Blue

This is one example of a basic prayer for children to use with prayer beads.   We offer two formats, depending upon whether your child has a chaplet or a full set of prayer beads.

For a chaplet:

Invitatory Bead: Dear God,

First Cruciform Bead: Thank you for,

1st set of Week Beads: have your child use each bead to name something for which he/she is thankful.

Second Cruciform Bead: Please bless,

2nd set of Week Beads: have the child use each bead to name someone.

First Cruciform Bead (you will come back to this bead in the circle): Thank you, God, for loving me.

Invitatory Bead: Amen

For a full set of prayer beads:

Invitatory Bead: Dear God,

First Cruciform Bead: Thank you for,

1st set of Week Beads: have the child use each bead to name something for which he/she is thankful.

Second Cruciform Bead: Please bless,

2nd set of Week Beads: have the child use each bead to name a family member.

Third Cruciform Bead: Please bless,

3rd set of Week Beads: have the child use each bead to name a friend, church member, or someone else.

Fourth Cruciform Bead: I wanted to tell you about . . .

4th set of Week Beads: allow your child to use each bead to tell God whatever is on his/her heart.

First Cruciform Bead (you will come back to this bead in the circle): Thank you, God, for loving me.

Invitatory Bead: Amen