When Children Pray
Spirit Broods  -  Children, Prayer, Early Faith & Revival Quote Bank
A curated collection of strong historical teachings and reports on teaching children to speak to God, praying with and for children, early faith, and children in revival. Sources are attached to every entry.


1. “Take the children by the hand and lead them with you into the Presence of God. Show them how to converse with Him.”
 -  William Booth
Source: The Training of Children, chapter 20


2. “Teach him to go to God, as he comes to you, in his own natural voice and manner.”
 -  Catherine Booth
Source: Practical Religion


3. “Tell him that God answers prayer… urge him to express his desires in his own language.”
 -  Charles H. Spurgeon
Source: The Child Samuel’s Prayer


4. “Prayer should be as natural to children as speaking to Father and Mother.”
 -  Catherine Booth-Clibborn
Source: Our Children


5. “See that you not only speak with your lips, but pray with your heart.”
 -  John Wesley
Source: Prayers for Children


6. “They can intercede for souls, and pray the fervent effectual prayer which avails as much in a little child as in a man.”
 -  William Booth
Source: The Training of Children, chapter 21


7. “Little children serve the Lord wondrously by their prayers.”
 -  Charles H. Spurgeon
Source: The Children and Their Hosannas


8. “Happy church which is adorned and blessed by prayers of dear children.”
 -  Charles H. Spurgeon
Source: Jesus and the Children


9. “I hope we seldom bow the knee without praying for our children.”
 -  Charles H. Spurgeon
Source: Children Brought to Christ, Not to the Font


10. “When we get more of this spirit of intercessory prayer in parents we shall see more spiritual children born.”
 -  Catherine Booth
Source: Prayer Not Answered


11. “Mother! come nearer, tarry with Jesus in prayer, trust Him: your child can be saved.”
 -  Andrew Murray
Source: The Children for Christ, Twenty-Ninth Day


12. “If we wish power for any work… or the rearing of our children, we can get it by earnest prayer.”
 -  R. A. Torrey
Source: How to Pray


13. “Day after day, and year after year, we pray for the spiritual benefit of the orphans under our care.”
 -  George Müller
Source: The Autobiography of George Müller


14. “The young converts at once asked to hold prayer meetings among themselves.”
 -  George Müller  -  report of the awakening among the orphans
Source: George Müller devotional archive


15. “Little children, middle sized girls and young women wept bitterly and confessed their sins.”
 -  Pandita Ramabai  -  report of the Mukti Revival
Source: Revival Movements as Conflict Agendas of the Popular, chapter on Mukti


16. “Two little girls had the spirit of prayer poured on them… they continued to pray for hours.”
 -  Historical account of the 1905 Mukti Revival
Source: Revival Library  -  1905 Mukti Revival


17. “O Lord, take away my naughty temper and give me a new heart.”
 -  Amelia Taylor, age three
Source: Hudson Taylor in Early Years: The Growth of a Soul


18. “Lord, save the children there!”
 -  Prayer used in the Dohnavur family under Amy Carmichael
Source: CLC Publications  -  The First Temple Child


19. “If our prayer comes right from the heart, God understands our language.”
 -  D. L. Moody
Source: Prevailing Prayer


20. “Children would take more interest in family prayers if the father would take time to search for some passage to suit the special need.”
 -  D. L. Moody
Source: Moody’s writings on family prayer


21. “O God, make these people as kind to me as father and mother were… Of course He will.”
 -  Prayer of an orphaned child recorded by D. L. Moody
Source: Moody’s Anecdotes and Illustrations


22. “Our children were taught as soon as they could speak the Lord’s prayer, which they were made to say at rising and bedtime constantly.”
 -  Susanna Wesley
Source: Susanna Wesley, chapter 5


23. “God is as much concerned about the character and life of children as He is of grown up people.”
 -  William Booth
Source: The Training of Children, chapter 9


24. “They have never been trained to personal dealing with God.”
 -  William Booth
Source: The Training of Children, chapter 11


25. “Children must be trained in habits favourable to their happiness, usefulness, and Salvation.”
 -  William Booth
Source: The Training of Children, chapter 12


26. “The definite dedication or setting apart of the children to be the servants and Soldiers of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
 -  William Booth
Source: The Training of Children, chapter 6


27. “The duty of parents… is so to govern, influence, and inspire them, that they shall love, serve, and enjoy God.”
 -  William Booth
Source: The Training of Children, chapter 1


28. “Children should be made to know something about the existence and character of God.”
 -  William Booth
Source: The Training of Children, chapter 10


29. “Children may be saved while they are children.”
 -  Charles H. Spurgeon
Source: To Sabbath-School Teachers and Other Soul-Winners


30. “Children need the gospel, the whole gospel, the unadulterated gospel.”
 -  Charles H. Spurgeon
Source: The Blood of Sprinkling and the Children


31. “Do not think that the conversion of children is a thing unusual or suspicious; look for it and believe in it.”
 -  Charles H. Spurgeon
Source: A Solemn Enquiry Concerning Our Families


32. “If a father and mother pray for their children, but never pray with them… they must not wonder if they are not brought to Christ.”
 -  Charles H. Spurgeon
Source: Bring Sinners to the Saviour


33. “Training is more than teaching. Teaching deals with his mind; training, with his will.”
 -  Andrew Murray
Source: The Children for Christ, Note A


34. “Teach me to speak to it of Thee and Thy love so that its heart may early be won for Thee.”
 -  Andrew Murray  -  a parent’s prayer
Source: The Children for Christ, Eighteenth Day


35. “Let the child under your leading have free access to Jesus.”
 -  Andrew Murray
Source: The Children for Christ, Thirty-First Day


36. “God’s purpose is that the Holy Spirit should take possession of our sons and daughters for His service.”
 -  Andrew Murray
Source: The Children for Christ, Twenty-Sixth Day


37. “Even children can be believers.”
 -  Andrew Murray
Source: The Children for Christ, Fifty-First Day


38. “God expects our children to grow up believers. We ought to expect it too.”
 -  Andrew Murray
Source: The Children for Christ, Fifty-First Day


39. “A parent’s faith teaching the word of faith may count upon the child’s faith as the fruit of his labours.”
 -  Andrew Murray
Source: The Children for Christ, Fiftieth Day


40. “The children would openly profess their personal faith in the words: I am the Lord’s.”
 -  Andrew Murray
Source: The Children for Christ, Twenty-Fourth Day


41. “The simplicity and reality of children’s prayers is often very striking.”
 -  Catherine Booth-Clibborn
Source: Our Children


42. “The great end of Christian training is to lead children to realize that they belong to God.”
 -  Catherine Booth
Source: Training Children


43. “Every one of our children will be brought into the ark, if we pray and work earnestly for them.”
 -  D. L. Moody
Source: Anecdotes and Illustrations  -  Prayer


44. “The impression that a praying mother leaves upon her children is life-long.”
 -  D. L. Moody
Source: Anecdotes and Illustrations  -  Prayer


45. Teaching note  -  William Booth urges parents to kneel with their children, speak to God aloud about them, and then encourage the children to tell God about themselves. His purpose is to lead them into actual personal dealing with Christ rather than merely teaching them religious language.
 -  William Booth
Source: The Training of Children, chapter 20