“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” (Colossians 4:2)
Parents are placed purposefully by our intentional God, and given the honor of leading their children to His feet. He loves them infinitely more than we ever could, knowing every hair on their heads at any given time. Our duty as parents is to teach and model how to live a Christ-centered life. Scripture repetitively instructs us to pray all of the time, carrying our conversation with God throughout the entirety of our days.
The morning hours set the tone for our day, and our children’s. Even amidst grumpy morning risers, we can model and instill simple habits of prayer to start the day off remembering who and Whose we are.
“Pray continually,” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
Prayer is purposeful and powerful. Starting in its simplicity during their formative years, we can help our children embrace a life devoted to a daily conversation with God through prayer. Prayer acknowledges our place in the world. God is God, and we are His children. He has the power to change our circumstances. He is our Healer, and He reigns sovereign and in control of the world even though it seems to us to be spinning out of control.
“We can pray while walking, driving or working,” crosswalk.com explains, “God responds to a two word cry for help in the middle of a busy afternoon, just like He does to a focused prayer time after reading Scripture in the morning.”
The purpose of prayer is to draw closer to God. He desires a relationship with us, and made a way, through Jesus Christ His Son, to come into His presence through the power of prayer. Prayer and Scripture are the ways we communicate with God. The Holy Spirit, present in every Christ follower, counsels us and translates the murmurs of our hearts to God in prayer, and aids us in discerning the truth of His Word. “The cross of Christ – his death in the place of sinners – is the foundation of all prayer,” John Piper explains, “There would be no acceptable answer to why or how we pray if Christ had not died in our place. That’s why we pray ‘in Jesus name.’”
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“And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.” (Mark 1:35)
Jesus Himself sought out quiet time in prayer with His Father in heaven. It’s a touching example of our relational God, and His compassionate care for our hearts. Setting aside time with God before the launch of our day keeps us in touch with the peace and joy Jesus died so we may have. He came so we would live life to the full, and modeled many habitual elements to help us stay in touch with peace and joy. He is always with us, but we must be intentional about connecting with God through prayer. “Throughout the Gospels whenever we read of Jesus and prayer, it comes up regularly and naturally,” focusonthefamily.com explains, “ It was simply a part of His worldview, integrated into every aspect of Christ’s life.”
Teaching our children to pray when they wake sets the tone of their hearts as well. It’s important we model this. My kids know I’m up before them praying and seeking God. I’m not asking them to do something I’m not doing myself.
When my children were young, we sang church songs as prayers. Throughout the day, we would pray over boo-boos and thank God for fun trips to the playground and friends to laugh with. As my daughters jump into the teen years, I’ve had to get creative in order to capture their attention in the morning! Lately, taking my daughter’s ear buds and blocking all the content except for her devotional podcasts seems to work. She’s in a much more cooperative mood in the morning… sometimes. The most important element of teaching our children to pray is just getting them there, and then allowing God to talk to them, and they to Him. We don’t have to know every detail as they age, just that the conversation is happening. If Jesus woke in the morning to pray, we should take His lead and follow Him.
“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6 ESV)
Prepping in prayer as parents equips us to pass God’s word on to our children. “God initiates prayer by declaring His will in His Word,” Debbie Przybylski explains, “We respond by praying His Word. Then He answers us by releasing His blessing because of our prayers.” When our children learn to arise and pray, and keep the conversation going, God’s favor, fruit and blessing abound! Prayer is not a wish list God checks off, nor a gum-ball machine we stick a quarter in to get what we expected. Sometimes God will answer directly, but He will always hear and answer the prayers of the faithful according to His will. And His will for us, and our children, is more than we can ask for or imagine.
Learning to pray God’s word over our children, and help them take the baton and pray Scripture for themselves is a powerful, obedient, and fruitful habit. “In Proverbs there are only two ‘ways’ a child can go,” The Expositor’s Bible Commentary explains, “the way of the wise and the righteous or the way of the fool and the wicked.” God’s will and design for our souls is to remain in touch with Him through prayer.
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Father,
This morning we take the time to praise You for who You are. Abba, Father. Jesus, Messiah! Holy Spirit, Counselor and Comforter. One True God, glory to You for this day, and Your purpose for it. This is the day You have made, we will rejoice and be glad in it.
Thank You for our families and our children, Father. Thank You for our homes, health and friends. Thank You for Your provision. We confess our worry and lack of trust in Your will for our lives. We lay our sins at Your feet because Jesus died to forgive them. Instead of the consequence of death for these sins, we walk away from them and begin a new day filled with Your purpose.
We lift our worries up to You because You care for us. Parenthood, marriage, friendship, finances, sickness, all of our worries we bring to You this morning. Father, bless our children with godly confidence and Your favor. Keep them physically safe, and healthy, and guard their hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, today and always. May their hearts be softened to Your Word, and their prayerful conversation with You be constant. May they have godly friendships, Father.
Increase in them the desire to meet You in prayer and in Your Word, and write the Words of Your Truth on their minds and hearts.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
Father,
Abba, Father. Jesus, my Savior and Friend. Holy Spirit, my Comforter and Helper. One True God, glory to You for this day, and Your plan for it. Thank You for my family, my home, my health, my friends, and my talents. Thank You for food to eat and clean water to drink. Thank You for creating me, God. Show me what You have planned for me today. God, You tell us to pray all of the time. Help me to remember to pray to You throughout the day, as things go right, and things go wrong.
You know the worries in my heart, and You care about all of them. Here they are, God. Take them from me. I am sorry for my sins, and thankful Jesus died so I can be forgiven. Help me to turn to You instead of doing things I know won’t honor You. Help me to love people like Jesus loves me. Help me through this day, God. You know what today will be like, but I don’t. Show me what to do, and tell me what to say and think. Help me to remember Bible verses I have learned, and teach me how to listen and do what they say.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
References:
Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Abridged Edition): Old Testament, Copyright 2004.
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This article is part of our larger Prayer resource meant to inspire and encourage your prayer life when you face uncertain times. Remember, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us and God knows your heart even if you can't find the words to pray.
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