Most of us have learned how to pray by watching others. Prayer is a simple behavior, yet it is very complicated. As I have grown in the word, I discovered that there is more to prayer then talking to God. We must set the atmosphere for the holy spirit to join us in communicating to God. If you are beginning to contemplate teaching your children to pray, you may want to consider the following information. Did you know that our children have a head start on us in being able to speak directly to God? In Matthew 18:10 the Lord says, “10 Beware that you don’t look down upon a single one of these little children. For I tell you that in heaven their angels have constant access[a] to my Father.” When children begin to speak or pray to God he listens to immediately. So, if our children can get direct access to God, what can we teach them about prayer? We can teach them quite a bit about prayer, children have a natural instinct to forgive, empathize, and pursue forgiveness. However, as they begin to enter adulthood, they learn how to hold grudges, enjoy watching others hurt, and to neglect the need to seek forgiveness or forgive others. The very nature of what made their prayers (our prayers) a priority to God, becomes an adult wondering if God hears, cares, and will step in on our behalf. There are three things we can teach our children about prayer that will outlive the innocence of their youth.
- Pray Often– We should encourage our children of the scripture verse 1 Thessalonians 5:17 “17 Always keep on praying.” As long as we are alive there is a chance that we will be offended. The answer to being able to get through our offense must lie in praying often. Prayer invites the Lord into our situation, and it truly changes the environment. The first time I attempted to pray through an offense, I was in nineth grade. The teacher left us in the classroom while he went to the office to get the results of our test. A fellow classmate decided to tease me. I remained quiet while he continued to go on and on. I was getting very angry because I had done nothing to this classmate. He simply decided to turn around and attack me verbally. After a few minutes, I decided to pray an honest prayer to God. I told God that I wanted to use my textbook to hit him, but I did not want to get in trouble. I asked God to help me and immediately my spirit became calm. I was no longer angry. The teacher entered the room with our exams, these exams were the fill in the bubble kind that required machine to grade it. Somehow our teacher mixed up our exams, he gave me the exam of the classmate that was teasing me, and he received mine. I was not aware that the exam I held in my hand was not mine, I was focused on the grade. My classmate announced my grade to the whole class, I received a failing grade for that exam. Everyone in the class was laughing at me, I was confused. If he had my exam, then whose exam had I received. I realized the exam I held in my hand was my loudmouth classmate. His grade was well below the grade I received that he had announced to the whole class. I said thank you Lord in my head, and I walked quietly over to this classmate and handed him his exam. We were the only two that knew what grade he received on his exam, and we were the only two that needed to know his results. When he realized that his grade was a lot lower and that I did not announce it, he never bothered me again. We became associates, I would not say friends, but we got along after that. The first thing we can do is teach our kids to pray often, not just at bedtime or mealtime. It will provide an outlet for them, if they choose to use it, during the moments they are being offended.
- Do Our Best to Do What Is Right– There will be times when we make a mistake. God knows when our mistake is truly a mistake or if it was done with a different motivate. The bible says in 1 Samuel 16:7, “7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not judge by a man’s face or height, for this is not the one. I do not make decisions the way you do! Men judge by outward appearance, but I look at a man’s thoughts and intentions.” Our children must learn that God listens to those who are pure in heart. We are reminded of this in James 5:16, “16 Admit your faults to one another and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous man has great power and wonderful results.” We must teach our children that when we make a mistake, we must repent, and then God will answer our prayers.
- Pursue Forgiveness- Forgiveness is a tough topic. When we are hurt, we can begin to feel justified in holding a grudge. We may begin to think of all the reasons we should not forgive others or why we do not need to ask others to forgive us. Recently, I had a dream that someone(s) I care for deeply was very angry with me. My initial response after I woke up, was to list all the ways I have been offended through their actions, not just words (which I believe was their reason for their anger.) I decided to pray about the dream and my feelings. During my prayer, I reminded God of all the things that were done to me underserved, I had not provoked any of their actions. God spoke this in my spirit. “You’re right, you can respond by attacking, but what result are you looking to have in the end?” If you respond the way you want too, then the enemy continues to destroy your family. If you choose love over being right, then restoration can take place.” I had to decide if I was going to be right or swallow my anger and choose love and peace. I decided I am going to choose love and peace, as I have done in the past. It is not easy to forgive others, and I have not mastered forgiveness by any means. However, I do know the importance of working toward forgiveness. In Matthew 6:14-15 the bible says, “14-15 Your heavenly Father will forgive you if you forgive those who sin against you; but if you refuse to forgive them, he will not forgive you.” We are encouraged to forgive so that God can forgive us of our sins. If we are unable to forgive, God is not in us. We are told in 1 John 4:20 the following, “20 If anyone says, “I love God,” but keeps on hating his brother, he is a liar; for if he doesn’t love his brother who is right there in front of him, how can he love God whom he has never seen?”
When we are teaching our children how to pray, it is best if we focus on setting the atmosphere for the Lord to hear our prayers. The innocence of their youth will carry them through their youth, we want the power of prayer to continue even into their adulthood. Teaching our children to pray often, try their best to do the right thing, and to pursue forgiveness will allow them to have a more effective prayer life.
CHRISTIANHOMESCHOOLHQ.COM CHALLENGE: Allow your children to see you praying at random times throughout this week. Talk to them about the importance of praying more than over their food or at bedtime.