As an introduction, here's a bit about the author:
Patti Gibble has a Master of Education degree and Bachelor of Arts in Education. She is a trained ministry worker who has directed Children's worship and Kids' church programs at a mega church. Patti grew up in Orlando, Florida where she worked at Disney World. She now writes books and spends time with the Holy Spirit in Tucson, Arizona.
Teaching your kids to pray
Over
the years, I taught many kids to pray. These children seemed to enjoy prayer
and connecting with God. However, before I began to teach kids to pray, I had
to learn to pray myself. When I learned to pray myself and got better at it,
then I began teaching kids to pray.
When
I first started the process of teaching kids to pray, I taught them how to talk
to God. I started by telling them about
who God is and how to talk to him. God is a king and he is the greatest king of
all. He is the king in the universe. In order to talk to a king we need to
follow protocol or talk in a certain way. I said we never talk to a king by
saying, “hey dude,” or anything careless. We all know we need to address a king
or president like they are important. Remember God is not just any king but the
greatest king. thee most important thing to remember is to treat God with honor
like you would a king or the president. When the kids understood who God is,
they began to know how to pray.
I
also taught kids how to listen for the voice of God. In the bible we learn that
“God is love” (John 6:69 b). So anything He speaks will be in love not hate or
fear. So when they listen for God’s
voice they listen for the voice of love.
The enemy speaks in hate and fear.
Anything that causes kids to great fear is from the enemy! Kids must be
clear that God is love and that he speaks to his children in love with their
best interest in mind.
The
following is a formula for leading kids in prayer:
Confess
– the bible says, “…confess your sins…”(James 5:16). I taught kids that God is
perfect and he can’t be around sin so if we have sin (disobeying God’s laws)
this sin gets in the way of us connecting with God. God just wants us to confess sin and ask Him
to forgive us. He will forgive our sins
if we just accept that Jesus already paid the price for our sins when He died
on the cross.
Thanksgiving
– the bible says, “Enter his gates with thanksgiving…” (Psalms 100:4). The way kids
come closer to God is to thank Him for what He has done for them. For very little kids or kids who don’t know
anything about God we can start by going outside and pointing to nature and
showing them all the things God has created. Then kids can thank him for anything
in nature. Trees, hills, grass, mountains, are examples of what they can thank
God for making for them.
Praise
– the bible says, “Enter…his courts with praise;” (Psalms 100:4). In order get
even closer to God they need to praise him.
Teach kids that if they know what He has done for them then they know
who He is to them. Praise is telling God who He is to them. If kids thanked God for lakes then they can tell
Him that He is a good maker or creator. If they thanked him for the beautiful
flowers then they can tell Him that He is a great artist or gardener.
Listen
– the next step to prayer is to listen to God. Prayer should be a two-way
conversation with God. Prayer is not talking to God without ever listening to
Him. This may seem like the hardest part
but it is not. I sometimes ask kids to
ask God if He knows their name and then
listen for His answer. If they
have asked Jesus in their hearts, they will be able to hear God speak to them.
The bible says “My sheep Listen to my voice…”(John 10:27). Then I ask children
to ask God if He loves them. Many times they smile because they know He does.
Some kids can’t hear right away and it takes some time to work through all the
steps with them. Many kids think they have to be perfect to pray but they don’t
have to be perfect to pray. Take time and teach prayer!
God
bless you for reading this blog! If you need more information, be sure to look
up my book. If you want to get a copy of
my book, go to Amazon and type in Patti Gibble or follow the link below:
Copyright ©2012 by Patti Gibble – All Rights Reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY
BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV®
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of
Zondervan Publishers, Inc., Grand Rapids, Michigan
49506. All rights reserved
Very interesting post. Thanks! I never really thought about teaching kids to pray but it is a very important thing.
ReplyDeleteI used to love listening to my kids pray - you never knew what was going to come out of their mouths.
DeleteSO true! I love listening to my kids pray. They are 3,5, and 7, I am amazed at some of the things they pray about.
DeletePrayer is such an invaluable tool, no matter what the age!
ReplyDeleteKids need time and effort, it is lovely to hear them pray - it needs to start at an early age and become a part of the bedtime routine - its a special family time for us all.
ReplyDelete