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1. Emphasize that Prayer is a Relationship
with God.
We
often smile at the innocent prayers of children, some of them quite
non-religious. But that’s the way we want them to pray—to do what they do
naturally. We want them to grow up with a simple approach to prayer, having
natural conversations with God.
2. Teach God’s Attributes
It’s not nearly so important to teach children
the mechanics of prayer as it is to help them get to know the person to whom
they are praying. The more children understand who God is, the more intimately
and confidently they can pray.
3. Teach Children to Pray God’s Word
Many
children (and adults, for that matter) never mature in their prayer lives
because they lack a prayer vocabulary. However, when we use Scripture to help
us formulate our prayers, a whole new way of talking to God opens up to us—new
words, new concepts, and new things to pray about.
4.
Train Their Ears to Hear God’s Voice
Children need to know that God
wants to talk to them. We must help children learn to listen to God, to become
comfortable with silence in prayer. Jesus says, “I am the good Shepherd, and my
sheep know my voice” (John 10:27).
5. Share that God Responds to Simple Faith
One of the best ways to instill
faith in children is to share with them the faithfulness of God. When parents,
teachers, and church workers tell children their most memorable faith stories,
it is usually not long before the children start having faith stories of their
own.
6. Teach Children to Handle Disappointment
in Prayer
This may seem contrary to my
previous point: Sometimes God doesn’t respond to our prayers in the time or way
we feel He should. It is important for children to develop a relationship with
God that goes beyond expecting to receive everything requested in prayer.
7. Help Children Receive and Give the
Prayer of Salvation
Hopefully
one of the first prayers a child will learn is the one he or she can pray to
receive Jesus Christ as personal Savior. The child must have a real encounter
with the living God so that his or her life will be spiritually transformed.
Praying in original words or being led in a prayer by someone else, the child
must believe in his heart and confess with his mouth that Jesus is Lord.
Later
it is important that the child learns the importance of praying for others to
come to Christ, including how to lead someone else in the prayer of salvation.
--Adapted from Prayer
Saturated Kids (NavPress 2007) by Cheryl Sacks and Arlyn Lawrence.
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July 2007 
