The Christian Home
Teaching Our Children to Pray

Introduction

“...The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James 5:16). Prayer is one of the most important parts of our christian walk, saying a quick prayer, just to get through it, because we have something else to do is not praying fervently. We must teach our children that prayers make a difference in our lives, and in order to be effective it must be sincere and from the heart, not a "Hurry up and pray" situation.

Effective prayer

Prayers do not have to be eloquently spoken, but they do need to be sincere, and spoken from the heart. “And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words” (Matthew 6:7). God honors all prayers that are sincere, even if they sound pitiful to our ears. Just as the disciples asked the Lord to teach them to pray, let us also have that same request. (Luke 11:1)

No matter how long our prayers are if it is not asked in faith and sincerity, it will not be effective. Working hard at prayers can also be ineffective, when it becomes just a legalistic ritual that is a part of our lives, because we know that praying is something that we are supposed to do. “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men...” (Matthew 6:5).

Enjoy praying

God wants us to enjoy praying to Him, and if we don’t, we need to look within ourselves and find out why. Our time in prayer should be enjoyable, and very important to us, that we put our attention to what we are praying about with our minds, our will and our emotions.

There will be times when our hearts will be breaking, that our prayers will be given with tears we must teach our children that God understands that we are hurting, and that it is alright to go to Him with tears. We also should be focused on our prayer and not let our minds drift to think about other things.

Pray For Others

Teach our children to pray for other people and not only for ourselves. “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplication, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men...” (1 Timothy 2:1). By teaching them to pray for others, they learn that every one is accountable to God. Prayer helps our children to understand that with God, there is stability in this world. Let’s teach our children unselfish prayer. When we pray for someone else just to make our lives easier it is not pleasing to God. We should pray that the spiritual life of the other person is in line with the Lord.

Have Patience

We must teach our children to have patience when we pray. “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers...” (1 Peter 3:12). Our children need to know that God answers prayers in His time frame and according to His will, and what is best for us.

Right Motives

Let's examine our motives before we go to God in prayer. Show our children that prayer is very important to us. "Continue earnestly in prayer, being viligant in it with thanksgiving..." (Colossians 4:2).

Irene Shephard
Fairfield, Ca.