Every once in a while, we may hear a Chinese prayer that says something along the lines of “孩子禱告” or “孩子在袮面前” which can confuse some people. Who are these 孩子? Whose 孩子 are they? On that note, is that how you write “孩”? (Sorry, happens when I stare at something for too long.)
TL;DR, “孩子” means “I”, and “孩子們” means “we”. So whenever you hear “孩子” being used in that context, just say “I” or “we”. It does not mean “child” or “children”. Okay, you can go now.
For those who wonder where that comes from, here’s how I understand it. Mind you, I haven’t researched the origin of this usage, but the way I make sense of it is that people try to emphasize their relationship to God by saying “I, Your child, blah blah blah” when they pray. After a while, it might have shortened to just “Your child blah blah blah” and then “Child blah blah blah”.
This usage or method of referring to oneself is not found in the Bible, but it certainly poses no harm. To some people, it’s endearing, and to others, a habit. For the rest of us, at least you now know how to interpret this colloquial idiosyncrasy.