Prayer

Teach Your Children to Pray

Never stop praying. – 1 Thes. 5:17
When they call on me, I will answer;  – Psalm 91:15
 . . . men always ought to pray and not lose heart,  – Luke 18:1


“The reason we should teach little children to pray about the little insignificant things but are significant to them, very early in life, is so they learn that if they talk to God, He will answer their prayers.” Dr. Charles Stanley

Begin early to establish a pattern in your children to pray.  Teach them that prayer is simply talking to God about anything and everything just as they would with a friend.  Prayer can be saying thanks for something or asking for help with a problem.   Jo Bevington in her book, I Can Pray, described prayer as ‘feeling, thinking, listening, and talking to a very special Friend’.

With your older children, help them to start a prayer notebook with a list of things to be thankful for, things to pray about, and people to pray for.  Encourage them to make note of when God answers.

A tangible way to establish prayer in a younger child’s life is by beginning a prayer box. Definitely have pictures of people and things to thank God for.

Also include pictures that will be a reminder of things to pray about.  Look together through magazines to find pictures or draw your own.  For example:


Help me share with my friend


Help me go to the potty


Heal my neighbor’s dog

Mark these pictures with a ‘PTL’  or a sticker and the date when you see an answer.  Help your children know that they can trust God to hear and answer.  In Luke 18 Jesus told his disciples a story to illustrate their need for constant prayer and to show them that they must never give up until the answer comes.  The answer may be yes, no, or not yet –  but God will answer!!!

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What’s a Mother to Do?!

Sometimes we can get so overwhelmed with all the books,  information available on the internet, and advice from well-meaning friends and family on the different aspects of parenting, that we don’t know what to do!!

Whether you are struggling with behavior problems with your children or the methods of potty training, YOU know your child and the situation better than anyone else and GOD will lead YOU.

Just close the books!

Quit searching the internet!

Quit quizzing others!

and ASK GOD!

Search HIS WORD for direction!

We all need encouragement from others, but don’t substitute the fellowship with other moms for time alone with God.  In order to know what to do for your little one, you must spend time with the One who created you both.  He is ready and waiting to help.  If you let Him help, motherhood can draw you closer to God than you have ever been!

I am convinced that there is nothing a child goes through or a situation we go through that can not be handled with prayer and the Word.  An old preacher once said, “God works in the lives of children through their parents; and parents work in the lives of their children through prayer.” It always goes back to God.  Pray about EVERYTHING, no matter how big or small.

My favorite verse as a mom has always been 1 Thessalonians 5:24 “Faithful is who calls you, who will also do it.” He has called us to the awesome and sometimes overwhelming responsibility and privilege of parenting – He has PROMISED to do it through us!!

 

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The Most Important Thing You Will Ever Pass on to Your Children!

Lord Jesus, make Thyself to me

A living, bright Reality;

More present to faith’s vision keen

Than any outward object seen;

More dear, more intimately nigh,

Than even the sweetest earthly tie.

In all your training of your children, whether it be manners, the skill of riding a bike, the knack of organizing, the correct way to hold a pencil, or whatever – remember the most important thing you will ever pass on to your children is the attitude and desire summed up in the above poem/prayer by Charlotte Elliot.  Pray it passionately for yourself.  Be an example of one who truly knows Jesus and depends on Him for everything, so that your child will desire to know Jesus in the same way and will one day passionately pray this for himself.

Jeremiah 9:23-24
This is what the Lord says: “Let not the wise man gloat in his wisdom, or the mighty man in his might, or the rich man in his riches. Let them boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord who is just and righteous, whose love is unfailing, and that I delight in these things. I, the Lord, have spoken!

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Keeping Thanks in Thanksgiving: A Thankful Walk

Take a walk around the house or outside and point out things you are thankful for.  Turn it into a prayer of thanks as you say “Thank you God for”  and name each thing.  You can also take pictures of these things and put them in a thank you box that you can decorate together.  Each night you can pull out a picture and thank God for it. You can include in your box pictures of family and friends to be thankful for.  Older children may want to draw pictures or make a thank you notebook.  These activities are for the whole family.  You never get too old to be thankful for the things and people around you.

Click on the link to hear a song you can use to sing your thank you’s as you walk. I apologize for the quality. . . it is from a 32 year old tape 😉 . . . but you can still get the tune and the idea.

13-we-are-glad-today

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Keeping Thanks in Thanksgiving: Bible Stories

Use the Bible to make your children aware of people who thanked God.  The first Bible story that comes to mind that has to do with thanks is the story of the Ten Lepers in Luke 17:11-19.  Ten lepers came to Jesus and were healed, but only one came back to say thank you.  At Amazon.com you can buy an Arch book about this entitled He Remembered to Say Thank You.    Our children loved the Arch Books as they tell the Bible stories in rhyme and the pictures are very colorful. There are many Bible stories available in the Arch Series.

The story of Hannah A Mother Who Prayed (also an Arch books) is an example of thankfulness as she earnestly prayed for a child and when God answered her prayer, she gave Him thanks. This story is found in 1 Samuel 1 and 2.

The Psalms are full of David’s thank yous.  And Paul talks often of his thankfulness for various things.

If you don’t have the books, read the stories in the Bible for yourself, and then tell them in your own words with expression.  Be creative and use visuals.  For example for the Ten Lepers you can make 10 paper dolls with dots all over them on one side and then flip them over  to reveal the spots are all gone when you talk about Jesus healing them.  Have all of them leave, and then one of them comes back to thank Jesus.

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