The POWER-PONDER-PRAY Method: A 3-Step Tool for Raising Young Heroes
Every kid wants to be a hero. Give them a cape, a boomerang, or just an empty cardboard box and a good imagination, and watch what happens — they'll leap off the couch and save the world before dinner's ready.
Here's the good news: that instinct isn't something to manage. It's something to aim!
At The Boom Squad, we believe every child was made on purpose, for a purpose — and that raising a "young hero" isn't about teaching kids to be strong. It's about teaching them where real strength comes from. That's a big idea for a small person to hold onto, so a few years ago we built a simple, repeatable tool to help kids (and the grown-ups walking alongside them) actually live it instead of just hearing about it.
We call it POWER. PONDER. PRAY.
It's the backbone of our devotionals, and today we're handing it straight to you — no book required. Whether you're a parent trying to make the most of five minutes before bedtime, a grandparent looking for something meaningful to do on a Saturday visit, a teacher with three minutes before the bell, or a children's ministry leader planning next week's small group, this is a framework you can pick up and use today.
Why a Framework? (And Why This One)
Kids remember rhythm. They remember things that repeat; just like their favorite songs. That's exactly why the same three words on every page of our devotional — POWER, PONDER, PRAY — aren't just organizational. They're training wheels for a habit we hope kids carry for life: hearing from God, thinking honestly about their own life in light of it, and then talking to Him about what they find.
Here's how the three pieces work.
POWER — A Truth Worth Standing On
This is where you give your child a piece of God's Word — a verse, a truth, a promise. Not as decoration, and not as a rule to memorize and forget. As power. As the actual source of strength for whatever they're about to face today.
This is also the moment to plant the Boom Squad's core idea, whether or not you ever mention our brand by name: God calls us to live heroic lives by faith in Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and guided by the truth of Scripture.
PONDER — A Question Worth Sitting With
This is the step adults are most tempted to skip — and it's the one that matters most. Ponder isn't "here's what that verse means, now let's move on." It's a real question, aimed at a kid's real life this week.
Good Ponder questions sound like:
"Was there a moment today you needed to be brave? What did you do?"
"Who in your life is hard to forgive right now?"
"What's one thing you're scared of that you could hand to God tonight?"
Resist the urge to answer for them. Ask, then wait. Some of the best conversations you'll ever have with a child happen in that silence right after a good question, before they've decided how to answer it.
PRAY — Putting It Into Their Own Words
Close by turning the truth and the reflection into an actual conversation with God — out loud, in the child's own words if they're able, or modeled by you if they're not. This is the step that moves the lesson from something I learned to something I did.
That's the whole method. Three steps. No special training required. It works because it's simple enough to repeat every single day, and repetition is exactly what turns a nice idea into a formed character.
How to Use It — Wherever You Are
At the dinner table (parents & grandparents): Pick one verse for the week and revisit it each night. Night one, read it together. Nights two through six, ask a fresh Ponder question tied to whatever actually happened that day — a hard moment at school, a fight with a sibling, a moment of real courage you noticed. Close every night the same way: a short, honest prayer. Five minutes, tops.
In the classroom (educators): Use it as a two-minute morning anchor or exercise during the day. Write the Power verse on the board Monday. Each day that week, ask a different Ponder question tied to something age-appropriate — kindness on the playground, honesty about homework, courage to try something hard. Let a student pray if your setting allows it, or close with a moment of quiet reflection if it doesn't.
In a small group or children's ministry (ministers & leaders): Build a whole lesson around one Power verse, then let Ponder become group discussion — this is where kids learn from each other, not just from you. End every single session in Pray, even if it's just one sentence per child. Consistency, not complexity, is what makes it stick.
Try It Tonight: A Ready-to-Use Example
POWER
"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." — Joshua 1:9
PONDER Ask: "What's something you've been avoiding because it feels a little scary? What would it look like to do it anyway, knowing God is with you?"
PRAY Pray together: "God, thank You that You're with us wherever we go. Help me be brave today — not because I'm strong, but because You are with me. Amen."
That's it. That's a whole devotional moment, and it took you less time to read than it will take you to explain to your kid why they can't have ice cream before dinner.
A Second Example, for a Different Kind of Day
POWER
"A friend loves at all times." — Proverbs 17:17
PONDER Ask: "Who's a friend that needs you this week — maybe someone having a hard time, or someone nobody else is sitting with at lunch? What's one thing you could do for them?"
PRAY Pray together: "God, thank You for the friends You've given me. Show me someone who needs a friend today, and give me the courage to be one. Amen."
The Bigger Picture
Here's what we've watched happen when families and classrooms actually stick with this: kids stop treating faith like a subject you learn about and start treating it like a relationship you actually have. They start bringing their real fears, real friendships, and real mistakes into the conversation — not the polished version, the true one. That's the whole point.
Using the heroes of the Bible, we've built an entire 21-day devotional — The Boom Squad: Young Hero Training Manual — with this exact framework, paired with characters kids already know and love. It's designed to do exactly what this article just showed you, just with a little more BOOM built in.
Either way — with our characters or without them — our hope for your family, your classroom, or your ministry is the same:
Become the hero God created you to be.
RISE ABOVE. POWER, POWER UP.
Come along
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Rise above. Power, power up!
