Starting Today, Develop A Prayer Life With Your Child

I was taught the “Now I lay me down to sleep” prayer when I was young. I remember praying it from as far back as 7-9 years old. Every night! I would not go to sleep until I had prayed. I ended with the usual God bless mama, grandmother, and then I would name all my brothers and sisters.  Around 10-11 I realized I could add more people to the prayer as I wanted God to keep them safe. Of course, it was just more family, you know, aunts, uncles, cousins.  I always prayed on my own, no one knew I prayed. To tell the truth I think I felt like if I didn’t pray for them, especially my mom, that they may die in the night and I wouldn’t see them again.

I remember one night as I was laying on the mattress in the floor of my grandmother’s den (I lived with her at the time)  praying, that the thought came to me that this prayer is pretty boring for me to continue repeating and I wondered if God was bored too. I decided that night that I would start adding to it  (after the normal now I lay me down to sleep and all the blessings). I would lay there and talk to God about things I didn’t understand, things that worried me. I don’t believe I ever heard Him answer but I always knew He heard, I don’t think was expecting an answer because I had not been taught that God speaks to us just that He listens.

My point for this post is, start praying with your children NOW. Teach them the simple prayer I use to recite just to get them into the routine. You’ve got to start somewhere. The point is to get them to pray. Teach them the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13, that is a great prayer for them to learn and pray.  When your children are away from you it would be good for them to know to pray. That God hears them. It can bring comfort. So get them into the habit. You get into the habit. Prayer is important! Prayer can change things.

Train up a child in the way he should go……