How to Teach Kids About Praying

When raising kids in a Christian home, it is important that they understand prayer and how it works in their lives. As a parent, it is your responsibility to both model a positive prayer life and teach your child how to pray. It will lead to an ability to reflect properly on their life, their faith, and others.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Your kids first need to understand that prayer is the way in which Christians talk or communicate with God. Let them know that God wants to hear from them, and that He will answer. Use the example that if they never talked to their father (or mother) here on earth, it would hard to have a relationship with that person. The same thing is true with God. You cannot have a relationship with Him, if you never talk to Him.

2. Jesus taught us the proper way to pray when he said the infamous "Lord's Prayer" in Matthew 6:9-13. Breaking the prayer down into its parts reveals to us that we should first recognize that God is our Father and we honor Him. Next, it tells us that God is control and we acknowledge that He is. The third part of the prayer says we should thank God for providing all of our needs. Then, we should ask for forgiveness of our sins, and finally we ask for his protection to keep us safe from harm.
   
   After you have explained this to your child, try this exercise:
   
   Display the Lord's Prayer for your child to see. Ask them to write a prayer of their own based on the different parts explained above. The outline could look something like:
   
   1. Honor God:
   ("God, your are almighty.")
   
   2. Acknowledge God is in Control:
   ("May your will for my life take over what I want to do.")
   
   3. Thank God for needs:
   ("Thank you, God, for the house that you give me to live in.")
   
   4. Ask for forgiveness of sins:
   ("God, forgive me for taking my sister's quarter from her room.")
   
   5. Ask for protection on your family:
   ("God, please protect my family while we go out to eat.")

3. Let your children catch you in the act of praying. Plan to have your prayer time when you know the kids will see you. Find a quiet place, but make it an accessible place as well, like your living room or bedroom with the door open. Kids learn by example, and if they see that prayer is an important part of your life, they will take your lead. At first, your child may sneak away to pray where he or she knows no one will see them, but eventually prayer will become more natural.

Tips & Warnings

• Buy your child a Bible of their own. The NIV is good for kids between the ages of 6 to 10.
• Let your child start with simple prayers of just a few words until they feel more comfortable with praying.