June 8, 2010
Prayer Time With Your Kids
4:00 PM | 
Posted by
Stephanie
photo credit: Wesley FryerDo you have a special prayer time with your child? I encourage my son to pray throughout the day. Sometimes I'll tell him "you need to ask God to help you to be nice to your sister" or "Pray to God to help you control your emotions".
At bed time, we have a routine of reading devotionals from 2 books that are especially made for kids, then reading 3 bedtime stories. After that it's lights out, and either my husband or I will stay with him for a song on his bedtime CD. It is during this time that my son and I pray together.
I noticed pretty quickly that praying in the eyes of a 4-year-old is sometimes verbally documenting a wish list to our Heavenly Father. (heck, praying for an adult can be like that sometimes, too!)
His bedtime prayer and his mealtime prayers are usually done by rote (again, many of us adults can fall into this trap too!).
At bedtime, I try to set an example of prayer for my son to hopefully learn from. We thank God for our day, and ask him to help us to have a good day the next day. I want to demonstrate being thankful in our prayers, just as Philippians 4:6 instructs us to:
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."
I also want to set an example of praying for the needs of others, rather than just our own wants and needs.
As I am writing this, I'm realizing that I need to work on the Lord's Prayer with the kiddo some more since that is how Jesus taught us to pray. (Remember how I said last week that I learn something when I write these posts? It's so true!)
In closing, I want to share a sweet little story about my boy. When we were doing our bedtime prayers this week, he said (unprompted) something along the lines of "and please help the bad people to stop making bad choices, and to invite you into their hearts". Awwwww! It's nice to see some of our lessons paying off!
How are you teaching your kiddos to pray?
At bed time, we have a routine of reading devotionals from 2 books that are especially made for kids, then reading 3 bedtime stories. After that it's lights out, and either my husband or I will stay with him for a song on his bedtime CD. It is during this time that my son and I pray together.
I noticed pretty quickly that praying in the eyes of a 4-year-old is sometimes verbally documenting a wish list to our Heavenly Father. (heck, praying for an adult can be like that sometimes, too!)
His bedtime prayer and his mealtime prayers are usually done by rote (again, many of us adults can fall into this trap too!).
At bedtime, I try to set an example of prayer for my son to hopefully learn from. We thank God for our day, and ask him to help us to have a good day the next day. I want to demonstrate being thankful in our prayers, just as Philippians 4:6 instructs us to:
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."
I also want to set an example of praying for the needs of others, rather than just our own wants and needs.
As I am writing this, I'm realizing that I need to work on the Lord's Prayer with the kiddo some more since that is how Jesus taught us to pray. (Remember how I said last week that I learn something when I write these posts? It's so true!)
In closing, I want to share a sweet little story about my boy. When we were doing our bedtime prayers this week, he said (unprompted) something along the lines of "and please help the bad people to stop making bad choices, and to invite you into their hearts". Awwwww! It's nice to see some of our lessons paying off!
How are you teaching your kiddos to pray?
My blog: The Helping Mommy
Find me on Twitter: @SDakin105
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5 comments:
Yes, yes, and yes!!!! Great post! Good question! My son and daughter are teens now, but all during their childhood anytime anyone hurt their feelings or situations throughout their day were difficult for them and they would begin to share with me their trials and tribulations on the way home from school, I would remind them that the difficult people and situations that they will continue to encounter throughout their lives are simply opportunities to pray! Now when one of them begins to speak of someone or of a situation that hasn't been a positive experience for them, the other sibling will remind them that it's a great opportunity to pray! From the time my children were itty bitty, they've prayed for the future spouses, as well...on her own, my daughter even prays for her future children...unbelievable avenue that our Heavenly Father has given us, such a gift to pass on to our children! My son even prayed for his baby sister from the time he was 4 years old until we brought her home when he was six (we found out he'd begun praying for her when she was born in Russia, before any of us even knew her, we brought her home when she was two years old. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this marvelous subject! My son's first year of college was rough, but he prayed his way through it and grew closer to the Lord while away from home, praise God! Can you tell? I LOVE to pray, it's my passion!
This is such a sweet post!! We love our nightly devotions and prayers with our little girl ( & newborn ) It is SO good for them!!! :o)
My mealtime prayers at home reflect my very personal relationship with God. I see my children now speak to their Father in the same way. There is no description for some of the heart songs I've heard them utter. Not only does the Lord get to hear their hearts, but so do I. Thanks, Steph!
Oooh, love the new blog design! Very pretty!
I always wondered if my kids were learning how to pray without my prompting. Then, the other day, we saw a ambulance go by and both kids bowed their heads at the same time and said a prayer for whoever was inside. I was so proud!!
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