So, how can kiddos begin practicing the vital practice of prayer? Barbour Publishing has an answer in a little green and navy book, 3-Minute Prayers for Boys. This book by author Josh Mosey targets boys 8 to 12 years old, whom he calls “men under construction.”
Each page holds a different prayer focus with a bit of Bible, a prayer and then two questions to ponder. Topics are interesting—“Creativity,” “Peer Pressure,” “Teachers”—and, well, age-appropriately quirky like “Bad Hair Days.” Verses include the Old Testament and the New.
The questions give a sense of gentle steering. Take “Jealousy.” Mosey asks, “When you look at other people’s blessings, do you think of how God has blessed you? What are some things you can be thankful for today?”
In “Holy Spirit, Guidance Counselor,” Mosey invites this consideration: “What does it mean to you that God lives inside of you in the form of the Holy Spirit? How can you listen better to His direction?”
And because we all might need help here, his “Bad Hair Days” asks, “Do you ever judge people based on their appearance? What could you do for someone whose appearance isn’t what others think it should be?”
Author Josh Mosey, a father of two daughters, handles the question of why he wrote a prayer book for boys. “Because I was asked to,” he said with a laugh at his Baker Books launch.
Mosey is the children’s book buyer at Baker Books in Grand Rapids, Mich. He is a longtime member of the writing group, The Weaklings, and facilitated JOT, a writing conference. His nonfiction has appeared in Our Daily Bread and Keys for Kids.
3-Minutes Prayers for Boys is a small, but mighty, book that just might move a mountain or two in a kiddo’s life. (Barbour Books)
About the Author
Cynthia Beach is the author of the novel The Surface of Water and Creative Juices for Writers. She is a longtime English professor at Cornerstone University and cofounder of Scriptoria: An Interfaith Writing Workshop with Gary Schmidt (scriptoriaworkshop.org). Visit her at cynthiabeach.com.