Praying with Your Child
Praying with your child is one of the most valuable things you can do to help their spiritual growth. Many Christian parents start praying with their children when they are infants or immediately after they become Christians.
Did you ever notice that most of the really important things in life aren’t learned automatically or don’t happen spontaneously? This applies physically, to things like muscles and stamina, academically with skills and knowledge, and, as many parents have realized, a child’s spiritual growth doesn’t come effortlessly either. As with anything worthwhile, prayer and devotional time can be spontaneous but should also be intentional.
Over time, life gets active, and praying together may be forgotten. We want to help you to be effective when praying with your child. Whether you are just starting to pray with your child or you are looking for more effective ways to teach your child to pray, we hope our article assists you in your Christian parenting.
How To Start Praying With Your Child
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Simply Start Praying
There is so much value in prayer. We are called to be praying continuously. So start praying out loud. Start praying before meals and before bed. Pray for your child. Pray for your child’s continued relationship with his Savior and Lord. And pray for wisdom for yourself as you model and teach a life of faith and prayer.
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Explain Why We Pray To God
This can be difficult to explain at first. Sometimes as Christians, we pray so much and talk to God a lot we forget the original purpose. This can also be challenging based on the age of your child. Nonetheless, it is extremely important to communicate with your child why we pray.
Why do we pray? For starters, it’s a command from God! Ephesians 6:18 says: “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep praying for all the Lord’s people.” (NIV) Another one of the primary purposes of prayer is to grow in our relationship with God. Not only to improve our own lives by getting close to God, but to learn from Him and develop a personal relationship with Christ.
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Have Your Child Pray
It is always a good idea to have your child pray as well. It is good practice, and it helps them learn how to pray. Do not just give feedback randomly. It may make them feel like they are doing it wrong. Set aside a specific time to talk to them about why we pray and how to pray, and tell them you will give them feedback after they pray. This will set you up to coach them on praying, so they continue doing it and grow though prayer.
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When To Pray With Your Child
Always be looking for opportunities to pray with your child so it isn’t just a routine, but part of their life.
Pray with your child for a need—a scary time, an injury, hurt feelings.
Times we are thankful. It’s easy to forget to thank God for answered prayer and a good time to remind little ones to trust that God has a better solution for “unanswered” prayer.
Set up bedtime routines. Children find comfort and security in routines. Take advantage of this by establishing bedtime fun which may include a Scripture verse, a devotional story (there are many good ones designed for all ages), prayer, and lots of hugs and snuggles.
Pray for others. Children are ego-centric (aren’t we all). Don’t forget to include a change of focus by being aware and praying for the needs of others.
Things To Remember When Praying With Your Child
Keep your child actively involved, not just listening, but repeating a line, filling in a blank, acting out a scene, clapping, singing. Nothing is too big, too small, or off-limits. God wants us to talk to Him about everything.
A young child’s attention span is short. Prayer and devotion time should leave your child with a desire for more of these special moments with you and especially with their loving Heavenly Father.
I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord (Jeremiah 24:7)