Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Philippians 4:6

There are times in life when there is nothing else to do but pray. When things do not go as expected or work as anticipated, we can still find great hope and solace through prayer. Prayer should not be the action of last resort, but rather a normal part of our daily lives.

Bring prayer into your home and into your child(ren)’s routine.

Pray Before School
One of the greatest lessons you can teach your children is they are not alone. They can ask God to be with them throughout the day. Prayer is a great way to start each day with your children. Teach them by example how to pray. Be deliberate about having them pray.
You will be amazed at the spirituality of children. The inner spirit of a child is created to have a relationship with God our Father. Prayer develops this relationship and makes it personal. It also creates a deeper relationship between a child and his or her parent(s). Prayer binds families together. It is often said, families that pray together stay together.
Pray Before Bed
One of the greatest ways to develop closeness with your child is to spend time talking, reading, sharing scripture, telling stories and praying with them. You can make bed time very special by spending quality time with your children.
Establish a routine to talk and listen to your children, their fears, concerns, joys, questions, and always end the night with prayer. Pray for whatever your child desires. It is amazing how perceptive children are to others' needs as well as their own.
Pray For Personal Needs, For Each Other and For Others
And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. John 14:12
God wants to show your children He hears prayer and He will accomplish His will in our lives. The Bible teaches us to bring our requests before the Lord. Making a prayer list with your children may be a great way to make prayer a priority. Check off prayers answered and take time to talk about trusting in God’s goodness and will.
Praying for others is a great way to expand your child’s compassion and mindset. The world is much bigger than our own needs. Help your child care for the needs of others by praying for them.
There will be prayers that may not be answered as expected. This provides you as a parent the opportunity to develop your child’s faith and knowledge of God’s will, timing and His Word.
The Lord’s Prayer
Jesus gave us a model for prayer, which we call “The Lord’s Prayer.” This is one prayer worthy of memorization.
After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. Matthew 6:9-13
There are important elements to this prayer, including honoring God, praying for His will, praying for earthly needs, repentance from sin, forgiveness for others, protection from temptation, and declaration of His sovereignty over our lives. Think about such things as you pray and teach your children to pray.

Story

The daily routine at our home, included prayer and reading. Of course as dad, rough housing was part of our nightly vigil with our two first born children, boys of course. My wife preferred a calmer end of the day, but boys will be boys.

Praying with our children often ended up in great conversations about God. Kids have a way of asking interesting questions, such as “why did God make skin?” Often one of our children would answer the question. In this case, the answer was “to hold your bones in!” Prayer ends up in laughter, enjoying each other and learning more about our God, a loving, kind, compassionate and fun God!

Interesting
Indian J Psychiatry. 2009 Oct-Dec; 51(4): 247–253.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2802370/

There are many articles regarding studies done on the effect of prayer. This one article, highlighted above, was published by the Indian Journal of Psychiatry, and is found in the National Library of Medicine. As Christians we understand it is faith that pleases God, but many scientific studies do show prayer impacts our natural world. As the Bible says, faith can move mountains!

…“Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20

BOTTOM LINE:

Bring prayer into your child(ren)’s routine.
Pray before school.
Pray at bedtime.
Pray for needs, for each other, and for others.
Pray the Lord’s Prayer and learn from it as a model of prayer.

Today’s Prayer: LORD, please help me to make prayer a normal part of our daily lives. Help me to raise up children that know how to pray and that see God as a good and loving Father who cares for every need. In Jesus Name I pray. Amen

Featured