Should we start teaching kids to pray when they’re young? Will they remember? Are they too little? Start now. You can never start them too young. Can I get an amen?
OUR GIRL
Hannah, our middle girl, she’s hilarious, caring, and very strong willed.
Y’all, this girl is me through and through. I am by no means boasting in my stubbornness, but humbly claiming that I am totally where she gets her strong will.
This past year, we started praying for specific people and situations at the dinner table. My husband and I really wanted to show our girls, not only how to pray, but to make it natural and apart of all our days.
Recently, Hannah’s started to ask to pray and I love hearing her pray. My husband will say, “repeat after me”.
He’ll then lead her in the most simple prayer, but I can’t help smiling because you know the Lord hears these simple prayers from a little girl’s mouth. It’s so humbling and encouraging that our God listens.
From the back of Laura Wifler’s book, Any Time, Any Place, Any Prayer, she says,
“Anyone can talk with God, however young.”
It’s a simple reminder that our children can talk with God, no matter their age.
PRAYER DEFINITION
Prayer is a solemn request for help or expression of thanks addressed to God or an object of worship.
This is how we want our kids to remember prayer and how our attitude of prayer should be.
I want to share with you a few ways in which we incorporate prayer into the lives of our kids and I’m praying it’s helpful for you and your family!
Practice Prayer
EXAMPLE:
There’s a couple in our church who inspired us to do this, so we take absolutely zero credit, but they made prayer sticks for every member of the church. During their dinner time, they choose one prayer stick and pray for that church member.
We’re still fairly new to our church so we don’t know everyone or know everyone well, but I did make prayer sticks for things such as: Family members, neighbors, prayers of thanksgiving, & prayers of petition.
Once we finish eating, one of the girls gets to choose a stick and either my husband or I will read the stick. Then, either my husband or I will pray. Here recently, both of our girls will ask to pray and I’m so excited they WANT to pray!
Something I was meditating on, is that it’s SO important when we are teaching kids to pray, to teach them the many facets of prayer i.e. intercessory prayers, prayers of thanksgiving, prayers of salvation, prayers of petition, and so forth.
It’s our responsibility to practice & lead these prayers with them, so that they grow with these in their toolbox and know that they need prayer.
EXAMPLE:
Another way we practice prayer with them, is praying for each of them before bed. I know this may be time consuming, especially if you have more than three kids, this is just what works for our family. Do what is best for yours!
This time when we pray with them, we walk them through praying for salvation. This is huge for our family. There are members in our current church who have adult children who are not saved.
It’s given both my husband and I the desire & urgency to pray for their salvation, but to teach them that, it’s important to pray for it themselves.
Recognize opportunities to pray
I know this sounds weird, but I LOVE the little moments when my daughter says she’s afraid or anxious because we have the opportunity to pray together.
These small prayers are very crucial and formative to their understanding of God. As believers, He gifts us with prayer as a wonderful reminder that God is sovereign over all things and that He truly is our only hope.
EXAMPLE:
My oldest started a Mother’s Day Out program this year and she absolutely loves it. She’s the first born so she’s the rule follower, the learner, the over achiever, etc.
Well, a few weeks ago, she mentioned a girl in her class that was having a tough time being kind to her classmates.
I asked for her name and then my daughter said, “She’s not very kind.” Then, I asked her, “Do you think we should pray for her?” My daughter asked, “How can we pray for her?”
Then, our conversation continued with ways we could pray for and encourage her friend. How cool is that? It was an “ah ha” moment for me too because I so quickly complain about my situation, like my fellow Israelites, instead of running to our Father for help.
It was the perfect opportunity for both of us to bring this sweet friend to the throne of grace. My daughter still tells me that she’s not kind, but we still pray for her.
Praying with our words and bodies
Most importantly, we must look to the prayers of Jesus. He gave us the words and manner in which we, as believers, must pray. He was humble, he went away to quiet places, & he gave us the Lord’s Prayer. This is how we must teach our children to pray.
I love this quote from Elisabeth Elliot,
“What God gives in answer to our prayers will always be the thing we most urgently need, and it will always be sufficient.”
EXAMPLE:
At the dinner table, we show and tell them that we are quiet, we bow our heads, fold our hands, and close our eyes. This makes them focus and be still before the Lord.
Of course, we have our two year old talking and wiggling her body, while the baby is shouting to put in her two cents, but the discipline is still valuable.
Once their bodies are ready to pray, we start by thanking God for who He is. Then, we ask Him for help, forgiveness, or whatever we need to ask Him for.
Finally, we end with thanking God for what He has done and all that He’s given us. Our oldest daughter has started praying by herself without help, but our middle daughter repeats after her daddy’s words and there is nothing sweeter.
Teaching young kids to pray can be fun and exciting! What are some ways you encourage your children to pray? How do you incorporate prayer into your home?
Please share your tips and practices!