12 Leadership Ideas To Do With Your KidsНамуна

Praying Through the Mall

Pick a time to take your young person to the shopping mall. Before leaving, tell them you are going to do an experiment that will help them learn to love and view people the way God does (this experiment will be easier for older students).

Prepare them to walk alongside you as you stroll down the aisles of the mall. As you pass people, look into their eyes and observes their faces. Consider what kinds of needs those people are experiencing in their life. You’ll find it’s easy to spot loneliness on a face; it’s easy to spot anger or aimlessness or depression.

As you pass them, smile at them. Then, once you’ve passed them, pray for the needs you might have seen in their faces. You might pray something as simple as: “Lord, those old folks looked lonely. Remind them of your presence, Lord, and if they don’t know you, reveal yourself to them.” Or, “Lord, those teenagers looked angry. Give them peace, Jesus, and if they don’t know you, reveal yourself to them.”

Do this experiment for as long as you want. I suggest you do it for about a half an hour. Afterward, sit down at a restaurant for a discussion. How did forcing yourself to stop, think about and pray about other’s needs change your view of people?