Prayer-Saturated Kids

I love this book. It is one of the most practically powerful books on prayer and parenting that I've ever read. Don't be fooled by its short length--it is a rare treat of a book within the Christian literature realm where the authors let scripture and real life stories do the teaching, leading me to feel like I'm connecting with the Holy Spirit's guidance for my children. I read it during my first pregnancy and after my daughter was born, my husband and I copied down the verses and prayers from the book and posted them throughout the house. The sample prayers put into words things I've always felt but have not known how to express. I've continued to read this book through each consecutive pregnancy and re-read it during the early years of parenting when my sleep-deprived mind often needs reminding of what parenting is really about. I am an avid reader but rarely do I read a book more than once. I believe I'm now on my twelfth time reading it through! But it's short length makes this an easy and encouraging read. I recommend this book to anyone who engages with children in any way, and I buy it as a gift for every new parent I know! I'm looking forward to reading the newest release, "Prayer Saturated Family."

Such an encouragement for parents and those working with children. Discusses how prayer is more “caught than taught” and importance of mentoring.

A great book to encourage and help parents on the ways of equipping and empowering their children in prayer. It also has useful tools for practical application for parents, teachers, grandparents, anyone who is a childcare worker.

Cheryl Sacks gives wisdom and guidance for parents, grandparents, and church leaders on how to pray effectively to help children discover and fulfill God's plan for their lives. I wish I had read this book when my children were born. (Purchased at Amazon)

Wow!! A really good book! I was so enlightened! The book taught me how to pray more specifically for my children.

I am Director of a Christian Daycare and wanted to open up the children's prayer life. It has given me great ideas that I have already implemented. Even better if I would have read this when my children were little.

Absolutely love this book!

A few days ago, I finished reading Prayer Saturated Children by Cheryl Sacks and Arlyn Lawrence. The authors of this book have written the Pray! Kids curriculum by Navpress. They have also written the prayer cards which Navpress has published for children (which I really like). Now, on to the book, Prayer Saturated Children...On the first page, one of the authors mentioned a prayer center I had heard of in Colorado Springs. When I read the mention of the prayer center, I set the book down and pondered how I would feel if this book came from a charismatic, pentecostal perspective. One friend said to me that she didn't understand why it would make a difference. I couldn't answer her since I hadn't read the book, but now I can.Indeed this book is written from a charismatic perspective. The authors of this book set out to write a book about how you can pray for and with your children. It includes chapters on how to teach your children to prayer and what the role of the church is in the prayer lives of children.Now, let me explain why it is significant that it is written from a charismatic perspective.There are three distinct examples that I can share.1) After talking first about how children are made and praying for your children to become who God created them to be and then talking about the times of days when we pray, the authors write about blessing our children in the third chapter. The authors say that these prayers are asking God's blessing for our children, but the wording and examples they give are in line with the idea of "Name it and Claim it". The chapter is mostly filled with examples of parents and grandparents speaking over their children and grandchildren.Specifically, here is an example:"In Jesus name I bless Nicole with peace and joy that springs up like a bubbling fountain. I bless her with faith, hope, and love--with good health. I bless Nicole with protection--may your guardian angels defend and watch over her. I bless her with healthy friendships and in the future with Your perfect choice of mate..." p. 48I know many people are comfortable with praying for people that way, but I'm not. I don't want to speak for God. When I pray for my children, I ask "Lord, may you..." or I thank the Lord for who they are and ask "please Lord if it is your will..." I know that we are to ask God for things in faith, but it is the Holy Spirit that intercedes for us in line with the Lord's will. I know that I do not fully understand what that means, but I don't believe that I can just pray for what I want--claim it to be true--and then it will come true. Hank Hanegraaf talks about the dangers of this belief in his book Christianity in Crisis.2) There is a great emphasis on spiritual warfare. I do fully acknowledge the reality of spiritual warfare, but it is something that I have noticed is of more concern to charismatic churches than churches which are not charismatic. This is not a negative about the book, but more of an acknowledgement about how this book is different from books that are not written from a charismatic perspective.3) It was very interesting to me to see how the children were given as great a responsibility to pray as the adults. Many of the stories I do not doubt in any way to be true, but I don't understand them.Here is the crux of my struggle. I believe that the Bible is the inerrant and infallible Word of God. Some people might say that the Experience of God and the Word of God combine to make up the Truth of God. My heart does not find peace in that. It makes me uneasy. Any experience of God should be supported by the Truth in the Word of God. Any revelation should come back to the Word--not new revelation. The Word is not to be added to.Proverbs 30:5-6 "Every word of God proves true; he is(B) a shield to those who take refuge in him.6(C) Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.Would I recommend this book to you? If you are charismatic, then you would like this book. It will support what you believe about prayer. If you aren't, then I wouldn't recommend it. This book puts more emphasis on the experience of faith and prayer than on the Word of God.My hope and prayer is that I have not maligned the Word of God in any way. I do not want to aggrandize any division within the body of Christ. There are some things that are difficult to talk about and discuss. For me, this is one of those issues. I fully believe that the women who wrote this book love the Lord. I do not know how to reconcile that I feel so differently about some things than they do--only that I must leave that to the Lord and live by the convictions that I have and seek the Lord in His Word.Please note that I was given a complimentary copy of this book for review.

Wow! I was recommended this book by a friend who attended a conference of the same name run by the same people. It is one of a select number of books that, on finishing, I turned back to the front page and started all over again.If you are a Christian parent wondering how you can make your faith real for your children and the ethos of your home, this is an absolute must-read. If you are a leader involved in Children's Ministry, wondering how your teaching programme can be more dynamic and relevant, this is a must-read! Ten chapters, each about 15 pages, make it very easy to read and digest. There are lots of practical examples from the two authors' experience of raising their own kids and at the end of each chapter there are eloquent prayers to help you get started on the issues covered. (Eg the power of blessing, healing hurt in broken families, the power of forgiveness...)As Christian parents and leaders, we want to bring up our kids to be strong in faith and powerful in prayer and we only have a small window of opportunity to do it. So don't waste any time - get this book now!

Another excellent purchase! Highly recommend this book to parents

This book absolutely inspired me! It's lovingly well written with compassion and empathy. I had some questions I'd been asking for a while now regarding if I'm doing the best I can for my kids in terms of ensuring I'm pointing them in the right direction, in regards to life, and as far as being good person goes. This book answered many of those questions. This book has educated me on how important prayer is and should be in our lives. It taught me how to pray meaningfully, thoughtfully and in such a way that brings more enrichment, fulfilment and happiness into our lives.Praise the Lord! Thank you!