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I have recently joined the Faithful Blogger Network. I have found some great Christian blogs to read as well as a network
of like-minded bloggers. Often the Faithful Blogger site will post prompts for
blogs to write about then we can red others views on the same topic.
This
topic is: How do you teach your children the importance of prayer?
The
1st thing to pop in my mind was:
Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he
will not turn from it.
Praying
to me is like a conversation with God. I am still learning how to properly pray
in the since of I know how to talk to God, but I need to LISTEN more. To just
listen to what, how, and when God wants me to do or not to do.
As far
as how I teach my son to pray, I have mostly Prayed OVER him. Praying for him,
praying that God watch and keep him. We also say nightly prayers and then I
pray for my son aloud. We also sing two songs, Amazing Grace and I’ll Fly
Away. My son enjoys this time at night and often sings these songs during
the day while playing. In addition, we often use this time to teach him bible
stories by reading children themed books. One story that prompts my son to
discuss is Jonah and the Whale. He is
always amazed at the story and we discuss what obeying is and why it is important to obey God.
I also
wanted to get my readers and supporters involved to share their experience with
children and prayer.
The
most common response was “modeling”. They prayed with their children and/or
said their prayers aloud so that their children could see it occurring within
the home.
Here
are some of the ideas that were shared:
When
we pray, we say out loud how Jesus is in control and how we want what He wants.
One time Ethan's eyes hurt and we asked him if he was OK. He said "I will
be OK because I'm going to pray to Jesus". He then closed his eyes, asked
Jesus to heal his eyes, said thank you & amen!
Plus, we do the standard
bedtime prayers and we encourage him to pray on his own. He thinks of random
things to pray for, like thanking Jesus for the road with the cars, etc. All
the things that he thinks are important !
As soon as Samuel came home from the hospital, I said the Lord's
prayer to him every night...from day 3 on...even if I were away at a workshop;
I would call and do this...it was our bedtime ritual just like bedtime stories.
At our church, the doors are always open an hour early for anyone that wants to
come pray ahead of time...we do this 95% of the time...I firmly believe that if
you start them young, make it into a daily event, it comes natural like eating.
Prayer IS food for our souls. Now that he is a teenager, I occasionally say it
with him, remind him to say his prayers sometimes and some nights I hear him
and my soul smiles.
My family and I have taught my son that its important to pray
every night as well as over his food and anything else that he thinks may need
it!!! He also knows at church when its time to pray that you don't move, speak
,etc.. Just close your eyes!! He knows it’s important !
By modeling it... They do
and value what they see us parents do.
As
parents is important that we bring up on children in the way that we want them
to go. I know most parents are like myself in that we want better for our
children. If they see positive behaviors they will more likely to do these positive
behaviors themselves. This ranges from their lifestyle choices, health choices,
as well as their eternal choices. I feel that teaching your child to pray is
the most important thing you could teach your child because they should know
that they have a Heavenly Father who is willing to listen to their needs as
well as TELL them how and what to do to better their situation.
I
would like to thank the readers who responded to my question and shared what
they do in their homes.
If
you are reading this post , please leave a comment so we can add to our ideas
and understanding of “How do you teach your children the importance of prayer?”.
