Teaching Your Child to Pray

  Prayer is a vital part of the Christian’s life. It allows us to communicate directly with our creator and to feel comforted by and more connected to him. Teaching our children to pray allows them to have that same experience. To understand how close God really is. They need to know that they can talk to their heavenly father and they must be taught how to reach him.

Teach the When, Where and Why of Prayer

  The first thing you’ll want to do is teach your child the basics of prayer. Otherwise, they can become routine and even seem meaningless to a child. They need to understand that their prayers are being heard by a loving, caring God who knows and desires what is best for them. Ensuring your child is being spiritually feed both at home and in your church will greatly increase the quality of their prayer life, as they will gain an understanding of who they are praying to.

Explain to your child that prayer is how we communicate with God, and they can pray anytime and in anyplace. Tell them that they can also pray about anything.  We pray when we want to thank God for his blessings, when we are struggling with sin, hurting or afraid, lonely or confused. Be sure to teach your child to pray for others as well. Those who are sick, hurting, in need and those who do not know the Lord.

Just as important as understanding why and what to pray, your child needs to understand that though God answers every prayer, it is not always answered in our time or how we would like to have it answered. Helping your child grasp this concept early on will greatly improve their relationship with God, as many adults struggle with keeping their faith alive when prayers seem to go unanswered.  Clarify that God is not a genie, we do not pray to him to have wishes granted. We must trust that how he chooses to answer our prayers is best because he knows best.

Teach Traditional Prayers

Make prayer a part of each day, but start small. Teach your child your most sacred traditional prayers so that they will not only learn them, but become comfortable with praying in general.
Say a pray at each meal, when you tuck them in to bed and when they awake. Post simple prayers around the house; for example, bedtime prayers by the bed and mealtime prayers in the kitchen. Give your child a keepsake treasury of prayers, there are many on the market that feature beautiful illustrations and praise-filled wording that will awaken your child’s inner prayer warrior. 

Let Them Lead Prayers

  While hearing your child recite traditional prayers they’ve committed to memory will undoubtedly touch your heart, it’s the random and sincere prayers from their own hearts that will truly bless you upon hearing them.

Encourage your child to pray, both alone as well as with yourself and others. Ask them to lead a prayer at meal or bedtime. Direct them to their knees when they are facing a difficulty you can’t be of much assistance to. From bullies, to fears, to loss and even in times of thanks, teach your child to go to God in prayer. With each precious prayer prayed they are growing in their faith.

Let Them See and Hear Your Prayers

  Your own prayer life is the best testimony to the importance and power of prayer. Let your child see you praying, both in times of calm and times of crisis. Share with them how God answered your prayers and times when he didn’t answer them in the manner you would have liked, and what you learned from that.

Pray for Their Prayer Life

  In your personal prayer time, ask God to bless your child’s prayer life and draw them closer to him. Hopefully, one day, your child will pray the prayer of all prayers and receive Jesus Christ as their Savior. 
Teaching your child to pray will ensure that they grow into well equipped prayer warriors!