Faith Path: Prayer
Recommended Ages: 6+
One of the greatest things you can do is help your child develop a relationship with God through prayer. Nurture your child's faith by praying together as a family and guiding them in the practice of praying individually.
Teach your child to talk to God
One of the greatest things you can do is to help your child develop a relationship with God through prayer. Prayer is how we communicate with and connect to our Heavenly Father. Nurture your child’s faith by praying together as a family and by guiding them in the practice of praying individually.
Be an Example
Allow your child to see and hear you pray on a regular basis. Take time to stop and give thanks in times when God blesses you or answers a prayer. Model prayer in times of difficulty or when seeking wisdom for important decisions. Pray for those in your family and others you know are in need.
JUMP START PRAYERS
Use these ideas to help start prayer time with your child.
- Sentence Prayers: Take turns allowing each person who is comfortable doing so to pray a very short, one sentence prayer. It can be as simple as “Please heal Uncle Paul.”, “Thank you for giving Troy a new friend.”, or “I’m sorry for losing my temper with everyone earlier today.”
- Fill-in-the-Blank Prayers: Use prewritten language to guide and focus prayer times such as the following starter lines:
- God, I love you because…
- Thank you God for…
- God, please help…
- God, I’m sorry for…
PRAYER TOOLS AND IDEAS
- Prayer Board: Keep a dry erase board or the calendar included with this kit in a high traffic area of your home and use it to note items the family is praying for together.
- Prayer Journal: Consider purchasing a journal for your child to start recording prayers and how God answers them.
- Mirror prayers: Using a dry erase marker, write a list of prayer concerns on the child’s bathroom mirror so he or she remembers to pause and pray after brushing teeth.
FAMILY ROUTINES
Making prayer a regular part of your family culture will help make it a normal part of your child’s life. Consider incorporating some of the following in your family routine.
- Mealtime: Briefly give thanks before you eat, and then wait until everyone has finished to have a longer time of prayer together.
- Bedtime: The first person in the family to go to bed (usually the youngest) alerts everyone else that it is time for an end-of-day prayer together.
- Drive time: As you start the engine, pause for a brief prayer together asking God to go with you and invite everyone to pray a sentence prayer for any concern about the upcoming activities of the day. This is a great routine to begin as you drive to school in the morning.
- Walks: Taking a walk together is the ideal time to pray. Pause at the end to pray about the matters discussed during your walk.
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recommended books
What Happens When I Talk to God?
By Stormie Omartian
Combining her passion for prayer with her love for little ones, beloved writer and speaker Stormie Omartian teams with talented illustrator Shari Warren to share an important message: "It's never too early to teach a child to pray." Stormie encourages children to develop the life-changing practices of talking to God every day and explains prayer in easy-to-understand ways. With examples taken directly from the lives of young boys and girls, she helps kids get to know God, thank Him for His love and care, and ask for His help in tough times. Stormie also touches upon forgiveness, the power of praying with others, and having a relationship with Jesus as she assures children that their prayers do make a difference.
Bright, contemporary watercolors depicting a broad spectrum of children accompany the text to present a beautiful picture of growing closer to God in prayer. For children ages 3 to 7.
Power of a Praying Kid
By Stormie Omartian
The Power of a Praying® Kid is a fun and "kid-friendly" approach to prayer for a very special audience. Written with young hearts in mind, this short, easy-to-read book for 7- to 12-year-olds will help your children learn to talk to God in a way that is meaningful and relational.
Interactive call-outs, sample prayers, and places to record their own words to God are sprinkled throughout the pages. Moms and Dads as well as children will love the message of this book for growing-up kids...God wants to hear from them and He listens to their prayers.
Pray Big for Your Child
By Will Davis, Jr.
All parents want what's best for their children. What better place to begin than by praying for them? Now prayer expert Will Davis Jr. shows parents how to develop a prayer strategy for their kids. Pray Big for Your Child helps parents unleash the power of praying Scripture for their children. It opens the door for bold, audacious prayers that change lives. This book includes a powerful thirty-one-day prayer guide and twelve around-the-clock reminders to help parents pray for their children throughout the day. Pray Big for Your Child teaches parents how to confidently use the most effective parenting resource available--prayer.
About Faith path
We believe God designed the family to be the primary disciple-making relationship. In other words, God gave parents the privilege of nurturing faith in the next generation. That’s why the Faith Path was created. It's a step-by-step plan to help you be intentional as you prepare for key faith milestones and foster spiritual disciplines in your child’s faith journey. From parent dedication to leading your child to Christ to launching your young adult, the Faith Path resources are designed to assist you in discipling your children.