Information Related to "Teach Your Children How to Pray"
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Teaching children to pray is a vital part of passing on our faith. Hebrews 4:16 reminds us that Christians can "come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." It's important that our children learn that they can also go to God, our loving Father, who is there to help and strengthen them. He wants them to build a relationship with Him through prayer as well as Bible study.
Children learn in many ways. One of the most effective teaching tools is by example. It is important that our children understand that we, as Christian parents, talk to God in prayer on a regular basis.
The formal examples they see of asking a blessing at mealtime, of anointing and prayer for illness and of prayers at Church services provide important lessons about our relationship with God. But children also need to see that parents spend time with God in personal prayer on a daily basis and that we should go to God first when faced with a difficult trial or an important decision.
The instructions that Jesus Christ provided in the Lord's Prayer (actually His outline for prayer), found in Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:1-4, are useful in teaching our children how to pray. Friday evening on the Sabbath, before bedtime or shortly after dinner, is an ideal time for the entire family to kneel down and use this outline of prayer as a teaching tool. Following is a practical way of doing this.
Using blank cards, write on each card a phrase from the Lord's Prayer followed by a simple explanation of what to pray about. For example, write on the first card the phrase "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name," followed by the statement, "Praise and thank God."
Related Information on UCG Sites:
Sidebar to How Can We Pass Our Faith on to Our Children
Table of Contents that includes "Teach Your Children How to Pray"
Teens and religion: