Teaching Our Kids to Pray: Lessons from the Lord's Prayer

One of the most precious moments in our family's daily routine is prayer time. But teaching young children to pray can feel challenging. How do we help them understand that prayer is more than reciting words - it's a real conversation with their Heavenly Father?

Starting with the Lord's Prayer

We've found that the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) provides a perfect framework for teaching our kids about prayer. Jesus gave us this model not as a script to memorize, but as a pattern to follow.

Our Daily Prayer Routine

Each evening, we gather together and walk through the elements of the Lord's Prayer:

1. Praise - "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name"

   • We start by thanking God for who He is
   • The kids share things they love about God

2. Purpose - "Your kingdom come, your will be done"

   • We pray for God's plans in our lives
   • The children learn to surrender their day to Him

3. Provision - "Give us today our daily bread"

   • We thank God for providing for our needs
   • Perfect opportunity to teach gratitude

4. Pardon - "Forgive us our debts"

   • We confess where we fell short today
   • The kids learn about God's grace and forgiveness

5. Protection - "Lead us not into temptation"

   • We pray for strength to make good choices
   • Ask God to guard our hearts and minds

Making it Age-Appropriate

For our younger children, we simplify the language:

• "Thank you, God, for being so amazing!"
• "Help us to obey you today"
• "Thank you for our food and our home"
• "We're sorry for the times we disobeyed"
• "Help us make good choices tomorrow"

The Results We've Seen

After several months of this routine, we've noticed beautiful changes:

• Our oldest started praying spontaneously during the day
• The kids remind US to pray when we forget
• They're learning to bring everything to God - from scraped knees to friendship troubles

Know God. Love God. Serve God.

Teaching our children to pray helps them know God through conversation, love God through relationship, and serve God through obedience. It's one of the most important things we can pass on to the next generation.

"These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." - Deuteronomy 6:6-7

What are your favorite ways to teach your children about prayer? We'd love to hear your ideas!