Heather from Not a DIY Life is guest posting for us today! She is a long time reader, commenter and tweeter of Impress your Kids. But more importantly she is a wonderful mama raising her daughter for the Lord. Heather blogs at Not a DIY Life and believes that life is not meant to be a Do-It-Yourself project . Please follower her on twitter and read her daily updates about her life and daughter. You will be encouraged!
Father, we thank You for the night,
And for the pleasant morning light.
For rest and food and loving care
For friends who make the day so fair.
One of many familiar prayers that we can teach our children. But how do we teach them that prayer is more than reciting a cute rhyme before meals and at bedtime? (There is nothing wrong with memorizing and reciting rhyming prayers, and we will be teaching our daughter The Lord’s Prayer because we say that prayer at church.) How do we teach our children to communicate authentically with our Heavenly Father?
Prayer at its core is conversation with God. Conversation includes both talking and listening. Since our daughter, Ladybug is 28 months, I really don’t expect her to understand the listening part of prayer yet. But we are enjoying the talking part of prayer together.
Our first step in teaching Ladybug to pray was to include prayer as part of our bedtime routine. Kids thrive on routine. We keep the bedtime prayer simple, using words that she will understand without “talking down” to God.
Our bedtime prayer includes holding hands, bowing our heads, and closing our eyes. She knows that is the posture for prayer. So anytime we say, “It’s time to pray,” whether at mealtimes or in church, she knows to be quiet, hold hands, and bow her head.
We include people that Ladybug knows in our bedtime prayers as well. She recognizes the names and will repeat them. And if we leave someone off the list, she reminds us, “Pray Baby Erin, Mama.”
Because we acknowledge what she says during prayer time, she is learning that she can participate in prayer and that prayer is not only for someone special like our pastor, but for everyone.
We usually pray together at mealtimes as well. For our family of three, that is the norm. But in some in our extended family do not have this practice. Because family members know that we pray, there is sometimes an awkward moment or two when gathered for a family meal. Ladybug has broken that awkwardness many times, with her cute toddler voice saying, “Pray, Mama, pray, Daddy.” What doting aunt or uncle can continue to feel uncomfortable when their adorable niece is asking us to pray? Ladybug is learning, through the practice of prayer, that it is important to share our faith with others. (And it makes this Mama want to cry tears of joy when she does that!)
Although we are firm that we pray together at mealtimes and bedtimes, Ladybug does catch us off guard and ask to pray at other times. And of course, we stop what we are doing and pray! Even if it’s the third time in a row, stopping to pray teaches her that God is available anytime.
When she sees either myself or Hubby in our prayer posture (head bowed, eyes closed), she knows that we are praying and asks to be included. She is learning so much by observing our practice of prayer! I feel that including Ladybug in our prayer times and allowing her to observe our prayer life is one of the most valuable ways that she can learn.
How are you teaching your child to pray?
Beth/Mom2TwoVikings says
Well done, Heather! *clapping* I knew there was a reason I followed so much of your advice! *wink*
AmyG says
We do the same thing, with bed time prayers. We pray the “Now I Lay Me Down” prayer, then afterwards, I prayer for family & requested prayers I have gotten through the day. I don’t go into great detail, like I do in my own prayering, but I do it so the girls will be able to understand what I am saying.
Great post!
vanessa@silly eagle books says
We just started a “prayer box” with our 2.5 year old. I placed pictures of our compassion children, members of our extended family, and missionaries in the box. Every night, she chooses a photo to hold as we say our nightly prayers together. She has really enjoyed holding and looking at the pictures and I think it has made the abstractness of praying a little more concrete. And it also brings our loved ones who live far away a little closer to home.
.-= vanessa@silly eagle books´s last blog ..mother goose finds =-.
Kristi_runwatch says
Oh, Vanessa – I love that prayer box idea! I think I’m going to borrow that one! 🙂
With my 3.5 year old, I talk with her (usually – some nights are just not ideal) at bedtime about what we should pray about – what we should thank God for, who we should pray for, if there’s anything she did that she needs to tell God about and ask for forgiveness. This has led to a lot of conversation about God’s faithfulness, protection, unconditional love, etc.
I want to teach her the concepts of what we talk about with God, rather than focusing on a formulaic prayer. (although, I agree there’s nothing wrong with teaching a memorized prayer and then growing out of that with time.)
And I love Heather’s point about modeling – as “they” say – faith is caught more than taught!
.-= Kristi_runwatch´s last blog ..Magic Eraser, if only you really could do magic… =-.
Leigh says
great post, Heather! I love what you do with Ladybug, and how Christ’s light is already shining through her!!!
Rachel R. says
When we pray with our children, we try to use words that are familiar to them, rather than “churchy” terms. For example, many people pray at mealtime that God will “bless this food to the nourishment of our bodies.” That’s Greek to a toddler! So we pray that God will “bless it and help us grow strong and healthy.” Same thing, different words.
We also have issues at bedtime with our girls praying by rote. Our 7yo will pray for the same things in the same order every night, at such lightning-speed that it is clear she has no idea what she’s saying – she’s just repeating words. So we’ve begun prompting her to thank God for one thing she usually doesn’t. That way she has to stop and think. Or we suggest that she pray that God will help her with _______ (whatever is relevant that particular day). Basically, we just give her something specific to pray about that’s *different* than her routine, because that makes her slow down and think about what she’s saying.
.-= Rachel R.´s last blog ..Super Food Recipe Roundup – Carnival of Super Foods =-.