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Archive for prayer for children

come out of the closet

Come out of the closet, parents.

Posted by Carey 
· Monday, September 23rd, 2013 

Time to come out of the closet, parents…

I remember hearing a phrase about the “prayer closet” as I was growing up in my “King James Only-Independent-Fundamental-washed in the blood-women only wear skirts” Baptist church.

It makes sense that I heard it there… cause the idea of a prayer closet is only clearly indicated in the King James Version. Here’s what it says,

But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. (Matthew 6:6)

The idea of a prayer closet was weird to me then… but not so much now. Now I see the importance of personal, quiet, focused times of prayer.

Parents, you need to go into the closet.

Using that idea of a closet as an analogy for focused prayer, I think it’s a good idea that we parents figure out a way to pray consistently and regularly for our children. Prayer is important – for us and for them.

We need to make sure we are going into the closet, making the time to pray.

It’s hard.

It’s unnatural.

But it’s where our hearts are changed and God’s power is revealed.

Don’t you want some of that for your kids? I do.

Parents, you need to come out of the closet.

When I was a boy, I remember waking up early on occasion and walking into the kitchen. There sat my dear mother, her Bible open on the kitchen table and her head bowed in prayer. I knew, I just knew that she was praying for me… and it made a HUGE difference in how I viewed the importance of prayer.

Just as important as it is for you to go into times of focused prayer for your children, you need to do so in a way that they see you coming out of that prayer closet. They need to see your example… and know in their hearts that you are praying (at least in part) for them.

I know, I know… the very context of Matthew 6:6 is teaching us NOT to do our prayers for others to see.

But Jesus was talking about making not a religious show of it. Agreed – we are NOT to do that.

But praying so that your kids are aware of your prayer times, is not the same thing. That is about being an example to your kids, which the Bible encourages in multiple places.

As it was in my case, your children will benefit from knowing that you are dedicated to your times of prayer. It will show them how important it is, and set the stage for them taking it seriously as they mature.

How do you get started?

In some ways, it’s a “just do it” kind of thing, but there are some ideas and resources that can help you.

  • Start here, most Christians don’t and struggle for far too long.
  • Months back I wrote some posts on Quiet time tips, which you may find helpful.
  • And here is a list of 30 things to pray for your children.

Whatever you do, as a parent, you need to be going into the closet and coming out again – for the sake of your children. Let me know how I can be of help.

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Categories : Parenting
Tags : how to pray for your kids, parents and prayer, pray for your kids, prayer for children
teaching children to pray

Teaching children to pray – step 2

Posted by Carey 
· Wednesday, December 26th, 2012 

This is part 2, in a series of posts on teaching children to pray… go read part 1 also…

1. Be real, not religious

There are a lot of ways you can be religious in your prayers that will NOT be of help to your children…

Using big, religious words because it seems that’s how prayer should be is not a good thing.

The truth is, prayer should be like talking. If you wouldn’t talk that way, don’t pray that way.

Your kids need to see genuine examples of what it is like to talk to God.

That doesn’t mean you can’t use “bible” words like sanctification, justification, etc. – but it does mean that if you are going to use them, you should help your kids understand what they mean.

If you don’t they’ll learn religion, not relationship with Christ.

Praying in flowery, fancy, rosy terms that deny the reality of the hardships of life is NOT good for your kids.

Your children need to know that it’s OK to talk to God about the hard stuff, no matter how hard it is.

teaching children to pray

But if you feel compelled to keep your prayers “sanitized” so they don’t get exposed to the hardships of the world, they’ll never learn that God is relevant to life, or that He cares about what they go through.

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Pray honestly about what you are facing as a family. Pray openly about the needs you have.

Your kids need to see by your prayers that God cares for everything, big or little.

2. Get outside your own world (intercession)

Help your kids know that prayer is not only about getting… it’s also about giving help to others. Here are some ideas about how you can do this…

Pray with your kids for people you know

If their friend’s mother is going in for surgery, pray with them about it. If their teacher is gone on maternity leave, pray with them for her and the baby.

God cares about people in all walks of life, and your kids need to know that.

They will learn it as you pray with them about those around them.

Pray with your children about missionaries and people in other parts of the world

Praying for missionaries does three things:

1) It teaches your kids that the spread of the gospel is important.
2) It teaches them that prayer is helpful to those in other parts of the world.
3) It teaches them that they can be involved in God’s work in history.

3. Talk about the God you are speaking to

Your kids need to know who it is they are petitioning. Here are some ideas…

Ask your kids what they imagine God to be like.

You’ll be amazed at what they have right, and what they have wrong.

Use their responses as opportunities to dig into the scriptures with them to help them get to know God better.

Talk about God with your kids when you are not praying

Make God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit members of your household. Include them in conversations on a daily basis.

Tell your children what God has been teaching you. Tell them when He convicts you of wrong in your own life.

Doing these things helps your children understand what God is like.

What have you found helpful in teaching your children to pray?

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Categories : Parenting
Tags : children's prayers, parents pray with children, prayer for children, teaching children to pray
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