Help your child to develop personal prayer habits by learning the Lord’s Prayer and by praying together each night. Find the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13.
You can combine this with a bedtime story for a pattern similar to the following:
Nightly Pattern
- Get your pajamas on
- Brush your teeth
- Get in bed
- Say the Lord’s Prayer together. As you move forward and your child begins getting familiar with it, have them say it with you. Then begin to let them fill in words. For example: YOU: “Our Father, who is in…” / CHILD: “Heaven” / YOU: “Holy is your…” / CHILD: “Name,” etc.
- Pray together and let each person have a turn. Ask your kids what they would like to pray about. Or, each night choose something specific for which to pray. Suggestions can be found below, and if your child doesn’t want to pray, it’s okay for them to say, “No thanks.”
- Tell a bedtime story
- Goodnight hugs and kisses
SUGGESTIONS for leading a prayer time with your children:
- Have some fun with the prayer suggestions below by putting them or others your children come up with in a jar and letting your kids draw one each night. When the jar is empty, refill it and begin again.
- You can also make a spinner that will point to different categories that will help guide your prayer time. These categories could include family, friends, missionaries, people who don’t know Jesus, I thank God for…, We need…, and anything else that you feel might fit your family.
- Finally, be sure to ask your kids about their prayer needs. You’ll be amazed at the things for which they will want to pray.
SUGGESTIONS of things about which to pray:
- Give God thanks for something that happened today.
- Give God thanks for someone special in our lives.
- Praise God for the ways He takes good care of us.
- Tell God how awesome He is.
- Thank God for someone who has blessed us.
- Pray for someone who has offended you.
- Pray for our church leaders
- Pray for missionaries
- Pray for our government leaders
- Praise God for making us special.
- Thank God for giving us friends.
- Pray for your grandparents
- Pray for someone who doesn’t know Jesus.
- Thank God for giving us the Bible.
- Thank God for all the freedoms that we have.
MORE RESOURCES
- Making the Most of Bedtime
- Bedtime Stories
- Bible Bedtime Stories
- A Guide for Sharing Bedtime Stories from Your Own Experience (PDF)
- Fun Family Devotions
- More Family Resources
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