“Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” ~ Jesus
Prayer.
How do you pray? Do you wake up early in the morning? Do you burn the midnight oil? Do you hide in the closet in the afternoon for five minutes of refresh time with the Lord? Do you praise him with song in the car? Do you get down on your knees, or stand and raise your hands?
Matthew 18:3 tells us to come to Jesus as little children. Think about that a minute. We adults are to come to God as a child would come to a parent.
Simply, when we pray, we are to come to him as we are. Ourselves. Sinners. And we go to him because of who he is.
We don’t need to use big words. We don’t need a loud and mighty voice that *might* reach heaven’s door.
Lives change because of prayer. I’ve seen it. Perspectives change, attitudes change, hearts change….
And the enemy knows the power of prayer.
So just pray.
Do you want to improve your prayer time?
Pray.
Go to him. He loves you and really does care what is going on in your life.
He rejoices over you and each moment you give to him.
Walk boldly to the throne – kneel – and talk to your father who loves you.
Then wait. Meditate on scripture. Listen to the inner presence of the Holy Spirit.
Then obey the still, small voice.
Prayer allows us to be the channel God works through. I want to teach prayer concepts to my children, but I have to grow in prayer myself and allow them to see my journey. I need to share with them what God tells me. I need to serve with sacrifice and praise.
Teaching Kids How to Pray
It is through our example that our children will learn to pray.
A few friends of mine and I are sharing tips and ideas that will help you to build your own prayer life as you teach your children how to pray. I recommend that you start with #1 and work your way through to the end. If it takes you longer than 31 Days then you are in good company. I didn’t do this in 31 days. In fact, I did one new topic every 3-5 days.
New habits take a while to form. Keep on keeping on!
Each article is linked here for your convenience.
The topics included are:
- Who Do We Pray to?
- How to Pray for Forgiveness
- Praying in Jesus’ Name
- When Should We Pray?
- Teaching Kids to Pray about Small Things
- Teaching Kids to Pray about Big Things
- When God Says, “Yes,” to Your Prayer
- When God Says, “No,” to Your Prayer
- When God Says, “Not Now,” to Your Prayer
- Teaching Kids to Pray Before an Event
- Teaching Kids to Pray for the Desire to Obey
- Teaching Kids to Pray for Clear Thinking and Knowledge
- Teaching Kids to Pray for National and Local Leaders
- Teaching Kids to Pray for the Nations
- Teaching Kids to Pray about World Events
- Teaching Kids to Pray for Needy People
- Teaching Kids to Pray for Their Friends Who Need Jesus
- Teaching Kids to Pray for Church Leaders
- Teaching Kids to Pray for Family Members
- Teaching Kids to Pray Anytime and Anywhere
- Teaching Kids to Pray During Personal Emergencies
- Teaching Kids That Prayer Changes Things
- Teaching Kids to Pray Prayers of Thanksgiving
- Teaching Kids to Tell God How They Feel
- Teaching Kids to Pray for the Ability to Forgive When Others Persecute Them
- Teaching Kids to Pray Aloud and Through Song
- Teaching Kids to Pray During Hard Times and Death
- Teaching Kids to Pray During Peer Pressure and Times of Suffering
- Teaching Kids to Pray When Reading The Bible
- Teaching Kids to Pray for the Future
- Using Prayer Stations with Children
***BONUS: How to Teach Kids to Turn Scripture into Prayers
I cover a lot of important prayer topics and strategies that you can implement in your home and church ministry. Be sure to sign up for my email list if you are not on it already.
There is a lot of scripture in this series, and to help you, I will be linking to BibleGateway.com. I will be choosing to use the NASB version, but when you click through you can change the verse to any version you want. Be sure to check our their daily emails, too!
Two Resources You Might Want to Check Out:
Teaching Your Child to Talk to God by Todd Temple
PrayerWorks by Stephen Kendrick and Alex Kendrick
