I was invited to lead a prayer effort for a week of Vacation Bible School—a daunting assignment when I realized they expected some 700 children to participate! But I knew this was a great opportunity to go beyond sequestering a few intercessors in a room to pray, and instead figure out a way to involve the children in unusual prayer moments throughout the week. We decided to offer a time for children to receive prayer at the end of each closing session. But we knew that might seem a bit intimidating, so we devised a way to encourage the children. Using a button-maker, we designed buttons that said “Got Prayer!” Then we informed the children that if they came forward for prayer, they would receive a button they could wear the rest of the week. We prayed it would become a “hot commodity”—and it did! We recruited several intercessors to be present at the front of the worship center at the end of each VBS evening. We equipped intercessors with “prayer blankets” they could wrap around the children as a warm hug while they prayed over each child. It was heartening to see lines immediately begin to form with each intercessor. Although it was a bit slow the first night, the buttons became an attraction for the children to come the following nights.  We asked the children if they had a specific prayer request, or if they just wanted us to pray a blessing over them. Most chose the blessing, but many also had surprising requests that revealed some deep hurts in families. It was especially touching to me that one of the most common requests was for grandparents—a helpful reminder that grandparents are very important in a child’s life. Another common request was for pets that had died, which always presented a challenge to pray in an honoring way! Of course, whatever the prayer request, we always managed to work in a prayer of blessing over each child. Many of the children who came were not from our church. I am quite certain that for some, it was the first time they had ever been prayed over. But by the end of the week, almost all the children “got prayer.” CAROL MADISON is editor of Prayer Connect.