| 5-7 years | 7-9 years | 9-12 years | 12+ years | |
| Long, Elkind & Spilka | vague and indistinct understanding connected to "God" and some forms of action | different from other actions still, a concrete, verbal action external forms | personal conversation with God requests become secondary | |
| Tamminen | Conversation with God and thanksgiving are most important for all. | |||
| external actions emphasized | petitionary prayer emphasized | conversation with God and reliance on God | ||
| Goldman (magical thinking) | "magical phase" prayer is sole cause of events God answers prayer immediately | "semimagical" prayer is still causative, but there are other forces at play in shaping reality | "Nonmagical" prayer is relationship, not causation; not sure what effect prayer has | |
| Thun | expects all prayers to be answered- if not, it is due to the child's (mis)behavior | God answers prayers "from the heart"- if not answered, doubt efficacy of prayer | ||
| Brown Tamminen | God acts directly in the world | God acts indirectly in the world | ||
Taken from Hood, R. (ed.), Handbook of Religious Experience . Chapter 13: "Development Theories and Religious Experience," p. 283-284.