Dear Parents,
Prayer. A gift and a mystery! That God, the great Creator of all that is, would allow us to converse with Him! We are on a journey as believers. A journey of knowing and loving God. As parents, you have the joy and privilege of helping your children grow in their love and knowledge of God through prayer.
Welcome to the adventure of teaching your children to pray. We have provided an age appropriate prayer journal for every child. We hope this will bring you and your child closer to God and each other as you spend more time together understanding the bible and prayer.
Here are a few tips to help you on the journey.
You are your child’s first example of a growing relationship with Jesus. Children learn how to pray by listening to you pray.
Pray often, not just mealtimes or bedtime.
Resist asking God to “give you a good day.” What is a “good day”? Instead, ask God to help you make good choices that show God you love Him.
Because your children learn how to pray by listening to you, remember to use words your child understands, be conversational, and always begin and end with thanksgiving and praise.
Often our children believe prayer is about asking but it is so much more. I’ve included 4 acronyms/ideas that might help you along the way.
Avoid using prewritten, repetitive prayer. It takes the place of a conversation that leads to a growing relationship. Ex. “God our Father, God our Father, we bow our heads to thank you, bow our heads to thank you, Amen, Amen.” This is a sweet song but, does the singer ever truly thank God before the Amen?
Tell your children prayer is sometimes about being still and listening. God speaks to our hearts when we learn His word and are still long enough for Him to guide us. That’s just one of the great mysteries of prayer!
Have fun as you pray. Your children can learn God gave us joy and laughter and as we respectfully pray, we can enjoy the conversation with Him!
Learning to pray is a lifelong journey. Oh, what a wonderful gift!
Please call on me if there is a way we can support you as you lead your children to know and love Jesus.
-Shelley
Approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Hebrews 4:16
