A past video has resurfaced and is reminding parents once again about the importance of teaching young children to pray. Prayer habits that last a lifetime are most often formed in childhood: that’s why it’s so critical to teach young children how to pray.
This video from Christ’s Church of the Valley showing children reciting the Lord’s Prayer is as instructive as it is adorable. As with most spiritual disciplines, prayer is caught more than it’s taught. As teachers and parents model meaningful prayer lives, kids will learn how they also can talk to their Creator.
Focus on the Family has some ideas for finding different ways to pray with your children. They include things like:
- Newspaper Prayer – Have each member of the family take a story from the day’s headlines on an issue that needs prayer.
- Sentence Prayer – Prompt children with a sentence they can finish like “Lord, I thank you for…”
- Highs and Lows – Ask children what their “highs” were from the day, and then ask them about the not so good times. Share your highs and lows as well, and then pray for them together.
- Prayer Journal – Write down prayer requests and then review the following to see what God did.
- A.C.T.S. – Teach them to break their prayer time into “Adoration”, “Confession”, “Thanksgiving” and “Supplication”.
No matter the method, children learning to pray at a young age will form habits that can last them a lifetime.