Prayer is how we talk and communicate with God. Teaching our children to pray should start at a very young age and yet continue all our lives. Just as we improve our communication with friends and family, all through our lives we can improve how we communicate with God.
In this article, I’ll share 10 simple prayers that will help your children learn to pray and how to make prayer a daily part of their lives.
Importance of Helping Kids Learn to Pray
Prayer is a powerful tool that can help children learn the character of God, grow in their faith, develop good values, and become more Christlike. Teaching prayer at an early age will help your child be able to use prayer as part of everyday life.
In I Thessalonians 5:16-18, Paul gives us a simple outline for prayer that we can teach our children. Rejoice always which means to thank God continually for everything. Pray without ceasing means we can pray anywhere and anytime. Give thanks in all circumstances. In good and bad, we should give thanks for what God has done and how he is working.
Let’s start with these 3 simple prayer practices: our prayers should include praise, we can pray anytime and show gratitude in our prayers.
When Should Children Begin Saying Prayers?
You can start praying with your child from birth. You can say a simple prayer out loud over them for God’s protection and care and rejoicing in the blessing of this child that God has given you. By praying over your child, as they get older they will realize you are praying for them.
As your child grows and learns to talk, you can encourage them to say their own simple prayers. I remember as a child being afraid of the dark and asking God for peace and protection when I was sleeping.
As your child grows older, you can begin longer prayers with request for forgiveness, grace and help to others.
When your child is old enough, encourage them to say their own prayers in their own words. Help them understand that God doesn’t need perfect words, he just wants to hear from us.
10 Prayers for Kids to Help Them Grow Spiritually
Prayer can be an important part of a child’s life and is often the foundation for their spiritual maturity. Here are 10 prayers that can help guide your child on this journey.
1. Help me to have wisdom and recognize right from wrong
In I Kings 3, God asked Solomon what he could give him. Solomon could have asked for anything, but Solomon’s prayer is a great example to teach our children. Solomon asked for wisdom and to be able to discern right from wrong.
Our kids are growing up in a world-changing fast. The lines between right and wrong are getting blurred by humanist ideas. But God’s truth is unchanging.
We can teach our kids to pray Solomon’s prayer for wisdom and discernment.
2. Protection when I am afraid
Growing up is hard. Kids have fears like being alone or in the dark when they are young and as they get older they fear failure, mistakes, and so much more.
In Psalm 56:3 it says, “When I am afraid, I will put my trust in you.” We can teach our kids to pray this verse when they are young and they will know it and trust it as they grow older.
3. Thank God for His daily blessings and care for us
Saying a prayer over our meals is a great way to start thanking God for his daily blessings and care over us. It’s a simple, but a very real way to recognize our blessings come from God.
As children get older, you can add thanking God for everyday blessings like rain and sunshine, safety during daily activities, and for our health. Just look around, we will see so many things to thank God for each day.
4. Guide me as I learn how to make good decisions by teaching me the difference between good and bad choices
Many verses in the Bible state that when we trust God for guidance (Proverbs 3:5-6, Isaiah 30:21, and Isaiah 48:17), he will direct our steps. We can teach our kids to pray for this guidance in all of life’s decisions, big and small.
Teach your child Psalm 32:8 when they need guidance, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you shall go. I will counsel you with my eye on you.” We can ask God to instruct us and teach us his ways.
5. Protect my heart from being selfish so I can find ways to share my stuff, tell the truth, and respect others
Learning to put others first is a struggle, especially for kids. We can teach our kids to show kindness to others, speak the truth and show respect.
One of my favorite Bible verses on kindness and how to treat others is Ephesians 4:32. A simple verse that we can use to ask God to help us live these traits to others.
6. Give me a heart that wants to do God’s will
One of our greatest struggles in life is the battle between our will and desires and God’s will for us. Even the Apostle Paul wrote about this struggles with wanting to do God’s will and the desires of his flesh in Romans 7:19.
Teens and kids of all ages have this same internal battle. We might not be with them every minute, but we can teach them to pray John 14:15, “If you love me, keep my commandments.”
Pray for a deep love of God and his word to will change hearts.
7. Help me believe in myself because without faith in myself I will doubt myself too many times when
Teens struggle with confidence. They are still trying to understand who they are, what they want to do with their lives, and many other questions. Plus, they worry so much about what others think of them.
When your child feels doubtful and insecure, remind them to pray this verse from Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
We don’t have to doubt when Jesus is with us every step of the way.
8. May the Lord bless my family and friends every day
We can love others by praying for them and asking God to bless them each day.
Why not create a weekly prayer list of friends and family you would like to pray for. Then divide the list over each day of the week so you pray for 1-5 friends/family members each day. Try to pray for something specific you know they need and would be a blessing to them.
I also love these verses from Numbers 6:24-26, “‘Yahweh {the LORD} bless you, and keep you.25 Yahweh {the LORD} make his face to shine on you, and be gracious to you.26 Yahweh {the LORD} lift up his face toward you, and give you peace.’”
9. Health for my body and healing for sick friends and family
Our life and our health come from God. We should teach our kids to pray for health and safety during travel (even routine daily travel).
If you have friends and family who are sick, add them to your weekly prayer list. Praise God for healing, too.
10. Safety and protection for missionaries and Christians around the world
I am fortunate to live in America, but not all Christians and missionaries are in free countries or safe countries. We may not be able to go to these places, but we can pray for them and teach our kids to ask God to protect these missionaries and fellow believers.
As you are praying for others, when you hear amazing stories of missionaries and believers around the world, share these stories with your kids so they know that God is hearing them.
Let’s memorize these verses
As you teach your children to pray, they can memorize the verses mentioned above and pray the verses.
The verses are also perfect know when we have questions and difficulties in life that God will lead us, be with us and make his face to shine upon us.
I put these verses and more together in the Faith Building Bible Verse Memory Cards.
Get your set today and start memorizing one verse a week. We are using these memory cards in our homeschool as weekly Bible verses.
Note: All scripture quotes are from the World English Bible.
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