top of page

Prayer

AGE 6

Teach You Child to Talk to God​

​

One of the greatest things you can do is to help your child develop a relationship with God by teaching them to pray. Prayer is how we communicate with and connect to our Heavenly Father. Nurture your child’s faith by praying together as a family and by guiding them in the practice of praying individually.

Be an Example

Allow your child to see and hear you pray on a regular basis. Take time to stop and give thanks in times when God blesses you or answers a prayer. Model prayer in times of difficulty or when seeking wisdom for important decisions. Pray for those in your family and others you know who are in need.

Jump Start Prayers

Use these ideas to help start prayer time with your child.

  • Sentence Prayers: Take turns allowing each person who is comfortable doing so to pray a very short, one sentence prayer. It can be as simple as “Please heal Uncle Paul.” “Thank you for giving Troy a new friend.” or “I’m sorry for losing my temper with everyone earlier today.”

  • Fill-in-the-Blank Prayers: Use pre-written language to guide and focus prayer times such as the following starter lines:

    • God, I love you because...

    • Thank you, God, for...

    • God, please help...

    • God, I’m sorry for...

  • 5 Finger Prayer: Use your fingers to help guide your child through prayer. Each finger represents one way to pray.

    • Thumb: Thank God for something good from the day.

    • Point: Point to something around you that you are thankful for.

    • Middle: Confess sin and ask for forgiveness.

    • Ring: Pray for yourself.

    • Pinky: Pray for someone else.

Prayer Tools and Ideas

  • Prayer Board: Keep a dry erase board or the calendar included with this kit in a high traffic area of your home and use it to note items the family is praying for together.

  • Prayer Journal: Consider purchasing a journal for your child to start recording prayers and how God answers them.

  • Mirror Prayers: Using a dry erase marker, write a list of prayer concerns on your child’s bathroom mirror so he or she remembers to pause and pray after brushing teeth.

  • Specific Prayers: Ask your child how you can prayer specifically for them. This models asking others to pray for you, and also models asking others how you can pray for them.

Family Routine

Making prayer a regular part of your family culture will help make it a normal part of your child’s life. Consider incorporating some of the following in your family routine.

  • Meal time: Briefly give thanks before you eat, then wait until everyone has finished to have a longer time of prayer together.

  • Bed time: The first person in the family to go to bed (usually the youngest) alerts everyone else that it is time for an end-of-day prayer together.

  • Drive time: As you start the engine, pause for a brief prayer together asking God to go with you and invite everyone to pray a sentence prayer for any concern about the upcoming activities of the day. This is a great routine to begin as you drive to school in the morning.

  • Walks: Taking a walk together is the ideal time to pray, or pause at the end to pray about the matters discussed during your walk.

Let our Faith Path team know how we can support you in this process by texting FAITHPATH to 317-483-1525.

Intentional Faith Path Plan

How will you be intentional this next year?

  • Pray daily for and with my child.

  • Consistently spend time in God’s Word.

  • Bless my child daily.

  • Attend church regularly.

  • Schedule and have regular family time.

  • _____________________________(add your own)

The next step on the Faith Path is Bible, recommended at age seven. We will offer a Bible kit to guide you.

Resources

  • Creative Family Prayer Times by Mike and Amy Nappa

  • Pray Big for Your Child by Will Davis Jr.

  • What Happens When I Talk to God? The Power of Prayer for Boys and Girls by Stormie Omartian

bottom of page