Lesson 2 - Helping Children Pray

Children and Prayer

Lesson 2

Helping Children Pray

Recommended Reading:  When Children Pray

It is very important to take time with your children.  In taking time with them, look for spontaneous moments, as they can be opportunity to teach prayer.  When we say a phrase like  ‘Just a minute’ or ‘I’m busy’ is like throwing cold water on a child’s spontaneous learning.  Your taking time to slow down and giving your child personal time can open up windows of time to encourage them to learn to pray and to pray together with your child. 

Children learn from their parents what is important by observing their actions.  Your personal focus on praying and helping your child to pray is very important.

In teaching prayer to children—Here are some things to consider that children need to learn:

• They need to learn to be encouraged to wait on God.
• They need to learn to hear what He wants them to pray.  Which comes from reading God’s Word and listening to what God’s Word says.  
• They need to learn to receive guidance from the Holy Spirit of God..
• Children need to learn to pray when difficult issues hit from time to time.
• Children also need to have parents read scripture to them as you would a book.
• They need help them in seeing how scripture guides us in many situations.

• When difficult issues arise—Children need to be taught that they can pray anywhere.  This can heighten their awareness of God’s presence.
• If the difficult issue makes your child emotionally respond, consider using scriptural examples from the Psalms of how others dealt with their emotions—the Psalms have excellent examples.
• Another important area of prayer that needs to be taught is ‘Blessing Prayer’—If you are blessing others in your prayers, your children will pick up on it.  If you aren’t, now is a good time to start.

An additional area helping children to learn to pray is to teach children would include teaching them to let scripture guide their prayers.  Here are some thoughts about letting scripture guide our prayers:

• Scriptures can give direction and inspire our prayers.
• Prayers using scriptures can be personalized which makes praying very personal.
• Scriptures are also a good way to start prayer time.

When we stop to teach children, we must understand that children have different needs.  Understanding these needs helps to be able to relate to the children.  Some examples of needs include:

• Release from fear. 
• Helping a child to be a listener.
• Recognizing a child’s need to talk.

There are many more needs, but these are a start and should help us focus on something important to a child in teaching them to pray.  Each of the needs are opportunities that can help us in teaching prayer.  Let’s look at these needs and get some ideas on how we might work with them:

• When we help a child pray about fears and woes, wants and weaknesses, we teach them that everything about them matters…and that nothing is too small or impossible for God to do.  Taking their concerns seriously helps them learn to seriously follow God.  Your teaching them to do this helps them recognize that you know about their fears and that you care about them.  Use what God has done—Use your spiritual heritage to encourage.   Help them to journal.  Use Scripture.  There are many resources available to help you.
• If a child needs to learn to listen or  is a listener, help them teach them to learn to listen to God 
• If a child is a talker, teach them to talk to God

Parental involvement is very important in helping children to pray.  Always be sure to affirm your child’s prayer.

To help parents teach children to pray, sometimes the use of a model called a prayer model might help.  We have provided several models at the end of this lesson in Appendix A.  Look them over and consider them.  Also consider the reflection Questions below:

Why is parental involvement so important in teaching a child to pray?

Why is it important to affirm your child’s prayer?

In teaching a child to pray about fears and other related areas, how does that teach them that everything matters?

Appendix A

Prayer Model:  A prayer model can lead children through the key elements of prayer.

Examples of prayer models:

The Lord’s prayer

            Honor God

            Embrace God’s Will

            Ask for Needs

            Forgive

            Protection

Teach children to say AMEN-that is an agreement prayer

ACTS Model

            Adoration

            Confession

            Thanksgiving

            Supplication-That is to ask God to supply our needs, but also bringing Him hurts, pains, and         needs of others.

A format to use when children pray:

             Praying about scripture-what to use

            Agree

            When a subject is thoroughly covered, move on

            Listen to the Holy Spirit

       As children get older:

            Use group prayers

            Prayer Chains

            Teach them about spiritual warfare and discerning God’s direction.