Thursday, August 16, 2012

Teach Them, They Need To Know

We teach them to tie their shoes, feed the dog, and make their bed.  We teach them how to read, add math problems, and use the computer.  But do we teach our children how to pray?

Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.  Proverbs 22:6

If we teach our children when they are young to call on the name of the Lord, when they are older, they will be praying adults.  Teaching them to pray is one of the most valuable lessons we will give them.

How do we teach them how to pray?  Start with the Lord's prayer, after all, that is how Jesus taught us how to pray.

“This, then, is how you should pray:  “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us today our daily bread.  And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.'"  Matthew 6:9-13


Teach your children to praise His name, to ask for His will to be done, to provide for us and ask forgiveness.  Teach them to ask God to help them forgive those that wrong them and to keep us from temptation.  Our children need to know this.

We can also teach them when to pray.

  • What better way to start our day then by talking to God!
  • Asking God to bless the food we are going to eat and thank Him for providing it.
  • When someone is sick or angry or sad.
  • When we see an ambulance racing down the road with sirens, we can pray for the emergency the first responder will meet.
  • When someone asks us for prayer.
  • When we are scared.
  • When we are facing a tough situation.
  • When we go to bed at night.
Our children need to know that they can always, in any circumstance good or bad, call on the name of the Lord.  They need to know that praying is simply talking with our Best Friend.

Another, and probably the biggest way, to teach our children to pray is for us to be praying parents.  When we pray we are showing our children by example.

Are you teaching your children to pray?

8 comments:

  1. So true! Praying without ceasing is a such a great example of our faith. It's hard to do sometimes, but it shows our children that God is always there, ready to listen, anytime of day:))

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  2. Praying is probably one of the hardest things for me to do and it should be one of the easiest. I think if it was something I was taught as a child it would be a much more natural thing to do. GREAT post! :)

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  3. Jesus gave us a model to follow through the Lord's prayer. I am thankful for the opportunity to teach my children to pray, without ceasing, and to remind them that God always answers prayers, in one way or another.

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  4. Great post. Very challenging and filled with truth.
    Thank you for sharing your heart with us.

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  5. Wonderful post, Jenifer. I still remember when I was a small child my mother knealing beside the bed each evening with me. At a young age she taught me the importance of prayer and for that I am very thankful.

    Blessings,
    Joan

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  6. HI Jenifer - such a great and valuable post here.
    God bless
    Tracy

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  7. Amen ! Great post :-)

    Love your visits over to Ordinary Inspirations! You are a blessing!

    Love, Traci Michele
    http://www.ordinaryinspirations.blogspot.com

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  8. This was an excellent post friend! A perfect way to leave a legacy for our children, by teaching them to pray and walk with the Lord. And to also be examples to them in our walk with the Lord. I loved this!!

    Blessings~
    Shari

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