Our desire is for our children to not only learn about God from us, but to meet with God on their own, apart from us. So, along with a daily family Bible study, we encourage our children to have their own time alone with God for Bible study and prayer. We have prayed for many years that God would speak to our children at a young age like God spoke to Samuel, and our children would hear his voice and respond (1 Samuel 3:10). We equip our children to read the Bible and pray, with great hope that God will speak to them in special ways!

A quick, simple lesson on prayer:

What is prayer? Prayer is simply a conversation with our Heavenly Father.

In the Lord’s Prayer (Matt. 6:9-13), Jesus taught His disciples to begin each prayer by saying, “Our Father in Heaven.” As we pray, God wants us to remember that He is our loving, heavenly Father.

Because He is loving, we can trust He wants to answer our prayers and do what is best for us.

Because He is heavenly, we can trust He has the power to do what is best for us, and there is no prayer too difficult for Him.

Because He is our Father, we can speak to Him freely and simply, as a child goes to his father for all his needs and wants.

God desires that we come to Him for all our needs and wants!

A common acronym for prayer is ACTS.

A- Adoration- “God, I love you because….”

C- Confession- “God, I am sorry because….”

T- Thanksgiving- “God, I thank you for….”

S- Supplication- “God, because you can do anything, I ask you to….”

We sometimes use these prompts to structure our prayer time together as a family, going around the breakfast table and praying one by one. This practice has equipped our children to use this in their own time with the Lord. Sometimes we have them write their answers out in a journal, which helps children (and adults!) focus and process the good and bad in their lives.

This is a simple tool for our children that again, we are praying will result in them meeting with the Lord in personal, special ways.

And a bonus result of our children journaling and praying through these prompts is stronger emotional health, which is not to be taken for granted, with the prevalence of emotional health issues among young people.

So, jot these prompts on a notecard and try it out during your next family meal. Have your kids write the prompts on a notecard to keep in their Bibles to help them pray. This is an exciting investment, because you are giving God avenues for speaking to your children in special ways!