Praying with your Children
By annetteyen • Aug 8th, 2008 • Category: Spirituality & Community
Now that my children have hit the teen years it’s been such a blessing to spend some time every evening in prayer as a family. Back when the girls were young, their prayers before bed were simple, “thank you for this day and for my kitty cat and that my nose stopped running”, yet sweet and innocent prayers. As they grew and matured, their praying has too.
I’m amazed to see how sensitive they are to the needs of others, how they “hear between the lines” when they have a conversation with one of our elderly friends at the retirement home and how they later bring that before God in a prayer of blessing or request.
I’m humbled and honored when they remember their dad’s needs or something I said throughout the day that they then pray for later in the evening. Praying with them, out loud, has brought a whole new depth to our relationship as parent/child - something I never imagined before.
I love this season of life and all the wonderfulness it brings. What a great blessing to be able to spend the years with our older children really developing a friendship as well as a parent/child relationship before they’re off on their own, married and starting up their own families. As our family looks forward to multi-generational faithfulness, I look forward to the day when my girls call me and tell me how blessed they are to be hearing their older children pray with them.
Annette is the homeschooling mom to two lovely teenage girls. Visit her on her personal blog at Quiet-Mom.com
annetteyen is the happy homeschooling mom of two wonderful daughters with whom she has a fabulous home business and just enjoys life with them, her husband and their 4 cats. You can visit her on the web at AnnetteYen.com
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Beautiful message Annette! Praying with our children and answering their inner most questions about prayer life is one of the most beautiful relationships a parent could ever have with their child/children.
I have a couple of friends that I pray with on a regular basis. One day the young daughter (5 yrs old), got on the phone and prayed while her Mom was on a business call. It was one of the most beautiful and sincere prayers I’ve ever heard! At 5 years old, she knew what she was praying and to WHOM she was praying to. Awesome! To God be the Glory!
The bible says to raise a child up in the way he/she should go and when they grow old, they will not depart from it. Thanks for sharing such a beautiful message.
You know my mom is 82 and she trained me to be prayerful. Hence, despite some health issues we still pray every morning and evening. This is a constant for her and myself. So, memory may be challenged but she keeps that routine constant. She has also added a song that she sings after prayer “Have I told you lately that I love you.”
Praying with children work. So when they become baby boomers, like me, they will, hopefully, keep it up!