In my opinion, apart from just basically loving on Kids, this is the best thing ever to do in Kid's ministry. It is definitely my most favorite part! We do this at home with our three little boys very often.
Quiet Time is meditation. Meditation is something that God designed. It simply means to focus or think about. I've adapted this for kids from Dr. Jim Richard's Heart Physics. I call it "Quiet Time" so it won't freak out parents.
Quiet Time is a special time where the children practice being still, find there secret place, build their relationship with Jesus, and listen to and practice learning their heavenly father's voice. Meditation writes Biblical principles on their hearts because they are focusing and thinking about the word of God. The younger a child is, the easier it is for him or her to enter their heart zone because they have not been contaminated with the world system or hardened their hearts. “Heart Zone” is basically the state where one is still enough to focus on their heart rather than the natural world. It is kind of like that state when you are almost asleep or just barely waking up. It is in this heart zone that one writes and rewrites things in the heart.
Children under age six actually live in their heart zone all the time. Because of this, Preschoolers may appear that they are not paying attention or interested. This is seldom the case. They are automatically listening, receiving, and writing on their hearts just because they live in their heart zone all the time. You can have quiet time with preschoolers that doesn't seem very quiet at all, yet they will tell you the most profound revelation of something Jesus told them while they were flip-flopping on the floor.
When we have quiet time for babies or toddlers, we just allow them to play around while putting on a CD that speaks Word over them. There is no need (and no way) for them to sit still for even one minute to "listen." They are in their heart zone already. Let them experience His Word in their hearts right where they are! There are even good quality children CDs that sing actual scriptures without any commentary-type lyrics. Triple love! You could even record a quiet time CD for them yourself. Or you can just speak over them yourself very easily. Play a soft CD and just calmly read Psalms 139 over them from the message Bible. Or say things as the Spirit leads. It doesn't have to be anything fancy. Here is an example of things to speak over them:
You are healthy and whole. Every part of you is blessed. You have the mind of Jesus. You are wonderfully made. No matter where you go, your Good Daddy will be there with you. You are righteous, pure, and lovely. You can even actually say the child's name in there. Yes!
...you get the idea.
For school-age kids, it is easy to go into a quiet time after an invitation because the children should already be still and have their eyes closed. Meditation for kids does not have to be long. No more than one minute per age (or five minutes total) should be plenty. Be sensitive. There do not have to be rules to this. During a Fitness Day Camp once, the kids were begging for quiet time. They actually laid their in silence for like 20 or 25 minutes and still didn't want it to be over.
Lead them to relax. Maybe even play a soft CD and dim the lights. (Example of Quiet Time Relaxation below.) You could have them inhale and exhale slowly and imagine themselves giving Jesus things that have been bothering them.
One of my favorite things we do with our three little preschool boys at home is have them lay down and put a toy boat on their bellies. We have them inhale and exhale so they can watch the boat sail on the "ocean." Then we proceed with a quiet time for maybe 1-2 minutes or however long they can stand it. At home, I really try to get them to practice being still just for discipline sake, but I do not believe it is necessary to experience their Father. They love the boat thing, and they also recall their quiet time as they play with the boats throughout the day. I have also had experience doing the boat on the belly thing with our preschoolers at church. It is especially cool if the lesson happened to be on a story involving a boat. We have actually made a simple boat for the story, and watched it sail on their bellies during quiet time. They loved it.
It is fun to ask the children if they would like to share what they did with Jesus or what they heard him say in their quiet times. It is powerful, and I mean powerful to hear the pure revelation of Father from the heart of a child.
Talking them Through the Quiet Time is no big deal. Really you would just tell them to, "Be quiet, still, and listen to your Father's voice." That is good enough. The Holy Spirit will take over, but they might need some assistance if you are introducing quiet time to them. Here is a general example, but be sensitive to things the Holy Spirit might prompt you to say. (Oh and I usually say all this fairly slowly and calmly. I try to give them actual time for silence.)
Close your eyes. Breathe in and our of your nose. Relax your head. Relax your arms. Relax your legs. Relax your toes. Relax your belly button. As you breathe in and out imagine that you hear the waves of the ocean. You feel very safe and comfortable. Now go to your very special secret place. It can be anywhere. It can be in your bedroom, a cave, a mountain, the ocean, a tree house, a cloud, an airplane, a fishing boat, or wherever you want. See yourself in your secret place. What are you doing there? You see Jesus there. It is a special time for just you and Jesus. What is he saying to you? Listen to the voice of God there in your heart and talk with Jesus.
I usually add a Word of God nugget in there depending on what I might be teaching like...
God is your Good Daddy and Jesus is your big brother. He said he would always be with you and never leave you. He loves you. You can't hide from him, because he'll just hide there with you. He said even if you make your bed in hell, he's going with you.
Hopefully soon I can post some testimonials of Quiet Times. No joke this is the most amazing ministry tool ever if for no other reason than it allows the teacher to "see" into little hearts. When we get to see the fruit of our labors, it is pretty rockin'!!!!!
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