Here’s a thing that God is teaching me in this season: being faithful in the little things is really important.
There are times when God asks us to do big things for Him (i.e. move, change jobs, give something away), and those can be challenging. However, it’s often more challenging for us to listen to God’s call in the small, daily, tasks of life. Prayer is a good example.
Prayer is a simple thing: it’s simply spending time with God, speaking to him and listening for him. However, it’s a hard thing to actually do.
It’s hard to find the time, and it’s hard to stay consistent in it, much less to “pray without ceasing” as we’re told to do in 1 Thessalonians 5:17.
I’m guessing that all of us want to be people of prayer, and we want to pray for our children. But in the hustle and bustle of life, prayer is often a thing that is easily forgotten and neglected.
This has, for sure, been a challenge for me. As a mom of two toddlers who also works part-time, it’s hard to find the time for anything.
I would not claim that I am perfect in my prayer life with and for my children. However, over the past year, I’ve made it a goal to be better about prayer in general, particularly praying for and with my children.
I’ve tried a lot of different things and learned a few things in the process. Here’s some of what I’ve learned…
5 Practical Ways to Pray for Your Kids Every Day
1. Tie prayer to anchor points.
I’ve found it really helpful to incorporate prayer into habits and anchor points in my day that are already there. Those anchor points for me are my waking, breakfast with my kids, the kids’ naptime, and bedtime.
I try to pray for my kids (even if it’s just for a minute) when I wake up and after they are down for their naps. I pray with my kids at breakfast and when they go to bed. Find your own anchor points in your day and work a prayer element into them.
Some examples are meals, bedtimes, commutes, drop-offs and pick-ups from school or day care (in the car time is a great time to pray with kids). They will be different for everyone, but they are there. Find them and take advantage of them.
2. Recognize that there is no one perfect way or time.
Every person reading this article is unique. We all have kids in different stages of life. We have different work situations, home situations, and relationship statuses. What works for me won’t work for you. What works for you today might not work six months from now based on what’s happening in your life and with your kids.
Create consistency, but don’t be afraid to change something that’s not working. Don’t be afraid to try something new. Always be on the lookout for new tools or ways of praying that will be a good fit for your current season or for a future one.
3. A Little Goes a Long Way
You don’t have to have hours to pray to have an impactful prayer life. The important thing is consistently giving time, not how much time you have to give.
Use what time you have. Start small. Recognize that even in seasons where you don’t have large amounts of time to pray, prioritizing prayer in the midst of chaos goes a long way in your relationship with God.
4. Incorporate Your Kids
Our kids need to know they are being prayed for as much as they need to be prayed for. They need the example of prayer so that they will know what it looks like to pray in their own lives.
The easiest way to teach kids to pray is to do it with them and to pray for them out loud in front of them. Sure, it can feel awkward occasionally, but it’s a great way to teach kids how to pray for others.
5. Use all the tools.
There are a lot of tools out there to help you pray for your kids. Don’t be afraid to use them. There are whole books and articles on specific prayers to pray over kids. You can use the Bible as your inspiration, picking a verse to pray over each of your children.
You can also write a prayer or a blessing for your child and commit to praying it for them regularly. Prayer doesn’t always have to be creative and spontaneous. Having a plan and set prayers can help you stay consistent and can teach consistency to your kids.
Prayer doesn’t have to be complicated, but it does take consistency. It’s a seemingly small thing that can pay big dividends. Praying for and with your kids is one of the best gifts you can give to them.
Consistently bringing them into God’s presence through prayer will impact their lives in ways you can’t even imagine. Teaching them to be people of prayer, praying in and through the mundane and the everyday ups and downs of life will be a gift that will last them a lifetime.
It’s simple. It’s hard. But it’s worth it.