| Praying Children In 6 Simple Steps |
| Written by Zach Allred | |
| Tuesday, 30 September 2008 | |
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When my family prays sometimes I will look around and see that my children are looking around and are not paying attention. Even the one saying the prayer. How can I do better in this area?
When my family prays sometimes I will look around and see that my children are looking around and are not paying attention. Even the one saying the prayer. How can I do better in this area? 1. Let your children see you praying. Your example is a powerful teacher. We have all heard the saying, "I would rather see a sermon any day than to hear one. 2. Use prayer to find lost toys. This is one of my personal favorites. Toys such as stuffed animals and such are so precious to children. As a parent you know that the toy is somewhere but if you stop and say "Let's say a prayer first" and then start looking your child will believe that it is Father in Heaven who found the toy for them. Who is to say that it wasn't? 3. Rituals. My wife tells our children to always say their prayers when ever they wake up and go to bed. Also at meal times a prayer is said over the food. This very quickly becomes habit forming. 4. Personal prayer. Children are often able to develop a relationship with God at an early age. They are more pure when they are young so personal prayer is easier to teach. Do not always make them pray out loud but also encourage silent prayers. 5. Spiritual stage fright. You have probably had the experience of saying the wrong thing while praying in public. I have a friend that was once giving a public speech and when he was finished, because he was so nervous, he said "In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen." For him this happened in school and it took him years to live down. Praying in public is necessary though for our children's development. 6. Flexibility. Teach your children that a short prayer is more important than no prayer at all. If you are hurrying out the door and are loading up in the car and you have forgotten morning prayers, at least have one of the children say a prayer while you are driving. In conclusion, teaching children to pray can be fun. Using meal time, bed time, and finding toys as opportunities to get our children to pray are habit forming for children. The Article Author: Obtain a complimentary e book abount parenting by going to Zacharias Allred's site on teaching children. You can also click on teaching children to pray to read other free articles. |
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