Listen to this MOM & ME podcast episode here
BIG GOD QUESTIONS KIDS ASK #4: “Is there a right way to pray to God?”
This is a great conversation to have with your kids! First things first, Praying is more about your heart than your mouth!
There is nothing magical about the words alone that you say in a prayer. You must mean what we say with our hearts.
So kids may be thinking or asking, “what is prayer exactly?” Prayer is simply talking to God.
A lot of times we learn to pray before meals or before bed, but it doesn’t have to be limited to a meal time or bed time or even being with your parents or other people. You can call out to the Lord anywhere!
Sometimes you may not even be able to speak with words out loud, like laying in bed at night or in the middle of the day at school, but God can always hear anytime our hearts cry out to Him!
Jesus does give us some directions about praying from our hearts in “The Lord’s Prayer” from Matthew 6:9-13:
“Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” – Matthew 6:9-13
Let’s break down this Lord’s prayer so kids can understand it better…
“‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. (PRAISE)
- Always start your prayers, not by asking for something but instead by giving God praise!! THANK HIM FOR WHO HE IS AND FOR LOVING YOU!
__________________________________
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. (Acknowledge)
2. When you acknowledge, this means that you recognize or that you know that God is in charge —that HE KNOWS EVERYTHING THAT has happened OR WILL HAPPEN in our lives—AND More than anything—WE WANT HIS PERFECT PLAN FOR OUR LIFE OVER OUR PLANS!
This is harder to do than to say! We all have ideas about how things should go in our lives each day right? In the friends we choose or in the words we speak to others, etc. But remember, God is looking at your heart when you pray. He knows if you really mean this or not—that you want his plans for you over your own
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” – Jeremiah 29:11
If we want God’s plan for our life for hope and a future—and we can learn what his plan for us is by praying!
_______________________________________________
“Give us today our daily bread.” (ASK)
3. ONLY AFTER WE PRAISE THE LORD AND TELL HIM HOW WE NEED HIS PERFECT PLAN FOR OUR LIFE, SHOULD WE ASK HIM TO PROVIDE THINGS FOR US. Prayer is not just a list of things we want like a Christmas list to the Lord…God already knows what we need. But he still likes to hear us talk to Him about what is on our hearts.
Examples kids can understand: praying for a new friend, for special someone in your life to get better from being sick, for the Lord to help your mom find a new job or just things in your life that you want and need for yourself and for others.
And this is important to remember—-When we ask the Lord for things—he always answers us! Even if it’s not the way we expect or the answer we want. There are times when God answers prayers as soon as we pray and other times, we have to wait for them to be answered and work on our patience. Then sometimes His answer is just “NO,” and we have to trust that His plan is always perfect and we can trust that!
______________________________________________
“And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgive debtors.” (FORGIVE)
4. A lot of times we stop after our prayer requests to God….dont forget to ask for forgiveness for your sins and also help in forgiving others when they hurt your feelings.
—————————————————-
“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” (FOLLOW)
5. pray for the Lord help us to follow Him and not to do things that we know we should not do.
Moms, I challenge you to pray with your kids this week and model this for them. Start with praise, then ask for requests and end with asking for forgiveness. Your kids will learn this from you as they listen and observe your prayers.
Listen to this MOM & ME podcast episode here