Raising Kids Who Pray
By Pastor Damon | Posted November 15, 2008
At six years old I watched my Dad perform a miracle. Ok, it wasn't an "official" miracle in the Biblical sense but to a little boy, it was nothing short of impossible. After returning home from work, my Dad took my brother and me along with his old Schwin bike to the church parking lot across the street from our house. There he blew our minds by riding his bike...backwards! Sitting backwards on the seat he would reach behind himself and grab the handle bars and off he'd go! My brother and I giggled and cheered as he lazily weaved his way around the parking lot smiling as he went. Since those days, I can't tell you how many wipeouts I've endured trying to ride my bike backwards.
I'm a Super Model...
So what does riding a bike have to do with prayer? Simple, kids do what their parents do. As a parent, there are few gifts we can give our kids as valuable and life-impacting as teaching them to pray. But how do we do it? Simple. We model it. In Luke 11:1-3 the Bible tells the story of how the disciples discovered Jesus finishing up His prayer time. Hungry to be like Jesus, the disciples asked "Lord, teach us to pray". We now refer to what Jesus taught them as the "Model Prayer". In short, Jesus trained his disciples to pray, by praying with them. As Moms and Dads, we have an opportunity to demonstrate prayer to our kids the same way Jesus did for His disciples. When you became a parent, God turned you into a "Super Model" (sorry, photo-shoot and $3,000 shoes not included). Each time we pray with our kids we model prayer for them. Praying for our kids during our private prayer time is essential but praying with our kids will instill within them a love for prayer unlike anything else.
Consistency is King...
Recently, my wife Kristine and I embarked on the amazing adventure called "Parenthood" with the birth of our first child. Now I have to be honest, I thought I was well prepared for life with baby. But the thing that caught me most off-guard is the baby's intricate schedule. Who knew that such a small person could require such an elaborate feeding and sleeping routine? I learned quickly that in order for my daughter to grow healthy, consistency is king. The same is true with prayer. When we pray with our kids on a consistent basis, their spiritual health will grow and grow. No prayer is unimportant. The thirty second prayer with your child before they walk out of the door for school or the short prayer at night before they go to sleep all contain eternal significance! In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Paul exhorts, "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." Paul is encouraging his children in the Lord to make prayer a lifestyle rather than an afterthought.
I believe Jesus is going to take our children higher, farther, and deeper into the things of God then you and I will ever go. The key to unlocking this destiny is prayer. Each time we pray with our kids, we influence their future and the future of all those they will impact for Christ. This year, let's make a new commitment to pray with our kids every day and in doing so; we will help give them one of the greatest gifts possible, life-long intimacy with Jesus.
Other Good Scriptures about Prayer
Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:7-9
For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; Colossians 1:8-10