Perhaps you’ve been praying for years, or maybe you’re a believer who is younger in her faith. Either way, knowing how to teach your children how to pray can seem a bit overwhelming.
I mean, guess what? We parents have the privilege and responsibility to teach our children how to communicate with an almighty, all-powerful God. Wow! No pressure.
Thank heavens that our prayers and prayer life doesn’t have to be perfect. This simple truth is what we want to make sure our children know. Our wonderful God is always approachable, available and listening to us (and them). I’ve included some helpful essentials to teach your children how to pray.
Pray first. God knows your heart. Your desire to teach your children His ways pleases Him! Ask Him for the words and direction by the Holy Spirit. Pray something like this, “Lord, you know my heart is to teach my children to pray and have a relationship with you. Give me the words to speak and give them hearts of flesh to be receptive to your Spirit. Thank you for what you’re already going to do. In Jesus name, Amen” Cast all your cares on him for he cares for you verse.
Practice It. Our children learn by our example. Your prayers don’t need to be bold, canned or sound amazing. For this reason, simply ask them what’s on their heart and pray for them! Don’t be afraid to share the personal things that are on your heart during this time. Mama, you don’t need to have it altogether! We do this at the breakfast table. I would simply go around the table and ask my children if they had any prayer requests or anything on their heart. They would inevitably share a request about our pets or chickens or something. Then I would say ok! “Lord, we just lift up our day to you. We know that you care about the things that are on our hearts. Lord, keep our chickens safe, help dad to have a good day at work today. Thank you that we can trust you and that you are faithful. In Jesus name, Amen.” As we’ve done this through the years, they’ve gotten more comfortable with sharing more deep issues. What a privilege it is to life these up to God as a family.
Model it. We need to be in prayer constantly. Covering all areas of our lives is crucial. Don’t be afraid to pray on your knees. So what if your children “catch you” (I struggled here!). They need to see you lifting others up in prayer. Telling them how we can be praying for that man begging for money on the street. If you lock yourself out of your car, let them see you pray. They will learn to handle the cares of this world by watching how we handle them. Eeeek. So, how are you handling them? With prayer?
Encourage. Similarly, we can encourage them to pray by making a “prayer request” sheet or board. Have each child write it on a post-it note and stick it to the wall. We’ve even written them on windows with dry erase markers. This is an awesome way to share one another’s burdens and encourage the children to also be in prayer for one another. If they’re old enough, encourage them to start their own prayer journal. Cards with scriptures or prompts can be helpful if they’re (or you are) struggling with what to pray about. Each card can address a different area of their lives; school, family, siblings, chores, family, missionaries, pastors, etc.
Celebrate. God is faithful and He does answer prayer! When your family has the blessing of experiencing this for themselves, celebrate it! Thank Him together in prayer, write it in a gratitude journal, or figure out another fun creative way to celebrate God’s faithfulness. I personally started journaling and I color code gratitude in pink… when I want to be encouraged to celebrate His goodness, I go back and read all the pink entries. We recently had the opportunity to pray for our state government and take part in a peaceful protest to stand up for our homeschooling rights. We prayed earnestly the 2 hours up to the capitol. A few days later, our prayers were answered! I’ll never forget sharing this news with them! As a result, I was reminded that I would pray as a child about not chewing my fingernails… funny how I knew to pray even though I didn’t know anything about God or church. But He would answer!
The Word. Teaching children the bible and where we derive our truths from is essential! Fee free to use The Lord’s Prayer as an example to how Jesus prayed. This is sometimes called the “A.C.T.S. Principal” A-Adoration, C-Confession, T-Thanksgiving, S-Supplication. In the Lord’s Prayer found in Matthew 6:9-13, we see Jesus do a few things. First, He worships God for who He is. Recognizing his deity, holiness, and attributes. Next, seeking forgiveness. We can teach them to confess sins to God because He cares for them. Then, they can pour out their hearts. What’s bothering us, what are our struggles? God wants you to press into Him. Finally, Christ gives thanks. We can thank God for all He has done and will do in our lives. We can use so many instances in the bible as a model for praying. David poured out his heart to God in Psalms, Jesus went off alone. There is no “perfect” way, place or formula to pray.
Others. This tip goes along with the modeling it one, but I thought it was deep enough to have its own place on this list. Certainly, they will see others suffering, will have a run in with a mean kid at school, or get into a spat with their brother or sister. These are all opportunities to teach our children to pray for others as well as their own struggles. Praying for missionaries or our pastors and leaders is a HUGE one! Children have such a tender heart and are more than willing to lift others up in prayer. Driving past a bad car accident? Don’t be afraid to pray for them as a family. This is a super natural way to teach your children how to pray.
Communication. Most importantly, remind them that God wants to hear from them and that there is no wrong way to pray to Him. I have to tell you, I asked my 5 year old, “If a kid friend came up to you and asked you to teach them to pray, what would you tell them?” She promptly said, “I would just tell them to go like this (putting her hands together and bowing her head) and talk to God. Then say in Jesus name, Amen.” Yes, it is that simple! How often I forget these truths. Sometimes it just takes the faith of my child to remind me that all prayer really is is talking to our God. A God who loves us and wants to hear from us! Talking to him just like the person next to me.
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What are your essentials for teaching prayer? How do you pray with your children?
I’d love to hear how you’ve approached this! This mama is always looking for helpful ways to point my kiddos to Jesus!
Please share your must-have tips!
