How to Encourage Your Kids to Pray

You know the power of prayer for your relationship with God, but how do you pass that part of faith on to your kids? How do you help them go beyond the memorized prayers you say together to pray on their own? How do you teach them to value prayer as a tool for spiritual growth? Let’s talk about how to encourage your kids to pray.

More than talking to God.

If you want your children to develop a deeper prayer life that leads to spiritual growth, you’ll want to help them understand that prayer is more than just talking to God. Talking to Him is wonderful and can help us, but real growth and intimacy come when you listen and respond to God.

Can children hear from God?

Absolutely! Children can hear God’s voice but may need help recognizing and discerning it. As they grow in their ability to hear God’s voice, they will often become more naturally drawn to praying on their own.

Encouraging a child’s prayer life.

Let’s examine the story of Samuel and Eli to learn a few things about helping your children grow their prayer lives.

Here are a few things you can do to encourage your kids’ prayer lives:

Walk with God.

“Never stop praying.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17 NLT)

Modeling a prayer life is the best way to encourage your kids to pray. Let them see you pray and hear about your prayer life. Pray out loud or simply point out when you are going to pray.

Show your kids what it is like to live a life of prayer by praying in both the good and hard moments of life. Model asking God for help when you are scared, hurt, or simply looking for your lost car keys. Then let them see you praising God in prayer when He answers you, shows up, or directs you.

Samuel served with Eli. He followed Eli and learned what it looked like to serve God.

Talk with God.

“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7 NLT)

Pray for your children to have a vibrant prayer life that leads to spiritual growth and intimacy with God. Your prayers for your children matter.

Samuel was born because his mother prayed desperately for him. She prayed so fervently that she was accused of being drunk. Talk to God about your children, and then gently let them know how much you desire for them to have their own prayer life.

Don’t stalk with God.

“Then Eli realized it was the Lord who was calling the boy. So he said to Samuel, ‘Go and lie down again, and if someone calls again, say, “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.”‘” (1 Samuel 3:8-9 NLT)

Samuel thought that Eli was calling him, but Eli realized it was God. At the time, hearing from God was rare. Eli could have stayed with Samuel to try to hear from God, too, but he trusted Samuel and God to have their own conversation.

As a mom, I want to be on the inside of my child’s relationship with God, but that isn’t my place. My place is in my relationships, cheering my child on in her relationship with God. I have to step back and trust her and God to figure it out.

After Samuel heard from God, he shared what he heard with Eli in the morning. If our children share with us, we can help them discern and listen well, but we have to respect that God and our children have a relationship that doesn’t include us.

Journey of a prayer life.

A prayer life will grow, change, and deepen over time, especially for a child. You need to be careful not to expect too much or too little of your child as they begin to pray.

Here are the ways that it can grow and change:

Tell God.

Your kids begin by telling God things. Be sure to help them know they can tell Him anything, big or small. God wants to hear it all.

You can help this by giving them prompts that they then whisper only to God, such as:

• • Tell God about your favorite animal He created.
  • Tell God the hardest part of your day.
  • Tell God about something that made you smile today.
  • Tell God about a time you messed up.

Ask God.

After kids are comfortable telling God things, they can begin to ask Him questions. Some examples may be:

• • God, my friend, was mean to me. Do I have to forgive them?
  • God, I felt alone today. Were You with me?
  • God, I messed up. Should I try again or quit?
  • God, is there someone at school that needs a friend?

  Listen for God.

  Then, you can help your kids learn to trust God to answer. Some ways God talks to us are through:

• • Wise people.
  • The Bible.
  • Pictures or thoughts in our heads.
  • Feelings or our guts.
  • Dreams

  Respond to God.

  Finally, once your kids talk to God, ask God, and listen to God, you can encourage them to respond. Some responses may be:

  • Discerning what they heard.
  • Journaling.
  • Doing what God said.
  • Praying for confirmation or clarification.

  Their prayer life.

  One of the most important things to remember is that their prayer life might not look like yours. You may like quiet prayer, and they hear God best while jumping on the trampoline. You may like to journal when they want to color or paint. You may enjoy praying in a comfy chair, and they want fresh air.

  Give them the space and trust to figure out what works for them and God. In your own prayer life, take your worries to God. Pray for and with your child, being humble enough sometimes to follow their lead and even asking them to pray for you.

  Remember that God wants them to pray even more than you do. He’s got this.