My youngest daughter’s confirmation day was a proud parent moment. The thing that really stood out to me was when the Pastor said (as he announced our daughter to the congregation) how he knew our family for a long time; and what stood out to him was that all 3 of our daughters knew how to pray. Wow, I was surprised. He said we as parents taught them well. I am not comfortable with praying in public or leading prayer but I know who God is.
For as long as I can remember, praying and talking to God are simply part of my day. For me, there is no real formula but this is how I encouraged my kids to pray.
1- Start Early
My kids have been praying for as long as I can remember. They each had chore charts printed out and posted up in their bathroom so they could see it early and late each day. Their first chore chart was just a series of pictures as they were too young to read. Pray before bed was 1 of the items on their chore chart.
2 – Keep it Simple
When they were very young, we did fill in the blank prayers. I would ask, “what are you thankful for today?” Gratitude teaches us so much. We not only learn to appreciate and trust God, but we start to see the good in the world.
Then I would ask “what do you want to pray for today?” This could be a good grade on an assignment, making up with their friend, or fun at their after school activity. It was open ended so they could decide what warranted prayers for them.
And lastly, we talked about who needs God? They always picked such amazing things. One time my daughter wanted to pray for the girl at school who seemed sad all the time. They taught me a lot about compassion and patience. It was truly eye opening.
2 – Why We Pray
Help kids understand that prayer is our way of talking with God. God is our friend, protector and creator. Just like we talk with our family and friends, we can talk to God.
As they grew up a bit, in addition to evening prayers they led prayers at family dinner time. We started with a prayer cube that they could roll and read the prayer. This allowed them to pray in front of others without the stress of thinking what to say. It is important to start and end your days with God. It doesn’t have to be anything formal to become a habit.
3 – Spending Time with God
Now they are teenagers and young adults and I often ask if they still pray. They all do. We pray as a family at dinner which is hectic and infrequent now that they are so busy. But when we do have that precious time, we pray in a take-turn manner. The kids love it as we each have an opportunity to pray for something or someone close to each of us. Sometimes we say thank you, other times we bring up a concern. It is an eye-opening time of sharing and bonding.
4 – The Power of Prayer
Tell them anecdotes about how God has answered prayer in your own life. Keep a log of family prayer requests and write down how they were answered. We have a prayer jar that we drop prayers into over time and at Thanksgiving we read the prayers and discuss how they were answered.
Life hits us all with difficulties so I ask them to pray for people I know and events that need prayers. I still pray that they seek and know God. That is my greatest wish for them. Prayer builds your relationship with God and that is the greatest gift in this world – knowing God.
5 – Make it Fun
Fun always makes learning stick. We have created several prayer tools over the years. One favorite is the individual and family prayer box. Just find a cute box or tin. It can be one that someone gave a gift to you in, a jar or an old altoid box. Almost anything will work.
I spend about 10 minutes a week writing prayers for others. I ask my kids and husband to put prayers in the box as well. Sometimes I go back and read the prayers. Once God answers the prayer I write how it worked out as a reminder that God answers prayers – in His time – in His way. It rarely looks the way I expect but I cannot see all that He can see.
As parents we are charged with teaching our kids. Remember that you are their main source for training and modeling behavior. School is only 30 hours per week and Sunday school is only 1 hour per week. But parents are there, day in and day out for years. Be the guide and teach hope to your children.