Establishing A Healthy Prayer Habit In Your Kids

As a momma who desires to raise my children to love and follow Jesus, prayer is an important topic. I pray for my children daily and want to help them establish a healthy prayer life for themselves as early as I can.

⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God,which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7

Prayer is our life line that never goes away. It should be the red thread through everything we do. And not just for adults! Prayer is important for children too. Sure, they might pray for their pet rock and ask God to keep their siblings away from their toys. But what a great start! Hearing your kids talk to God about what’s going on with them will make you smile…and we can bet that God is smiling too!

One day when Jesus was preaching to the crowds, a bunch of parents brought their children to Jesus so he could place his hands on them and pray for them. The disciples rebuked them, thinking Jesus was too busy or too important to be bothered by some noisy kids.

¹⁴ Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

Matthew 19:14

Momma, Jesus cares for your children even more than you do. He knows them now, knows them as adults, and knows them at the end of their lives. We may not be shooing our kids away from Jesus like the disciples did, but are we bringing them to Jesus daily? Modeling prayer and inviting them to talk to Jesus themselves is the best way to show them that a relationship with Jesus is important and relevant.

The best teaching tool for prayer is the Bible. God’s Word tells us what to pray for, how to pray, and how others have prayed. Using the Bible as a guide to pray establishes two habits that go hand-in-hand – prayer and Bible reading!

The Prayer Bible

I was given this Bible to review by FrontGate Media.  While I was given the Bible for free, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Prayer Bible is a wonderful Bible for children. If you struggle with prayer, or with praying out loud, this Bible will be especially helpful for you to guide your child.

You and your child can read pre-written prayers based on scripture from the Psalms and topical prayers.

There are also Q&A pages that tackle the sometimes difficult questions kids ask, such as “Why doesn’t God answer prayers?,” “How does God understand all the different languages,” and “How do I know God hears my prayers?”

There are also short devotionals with prayer pointers throughout the Bible, making it easy to apply your child’s reading to his or her every day life.

The Prayer Bible is written using the International Children’s Bible translation, which uses language that is easy to understand for even young children. Here’s an example:

⁶ Solomon answered, “You were very kind to your servant, my father David. He obeyed you. He was honest and lived right. And you showed great kindness to him when you allowed his son to be king after him. ⁷ Lord my God, you have allowed me to be king in my father’s place. But I am like a little child. I do not have the wisdom I need to do what I must do. ⁸ I, your servant, am here among your chosen people. There are too many of them to count. ⁹ So I ask that you give me wisdom. Then I can rule the people in the right way. Then I will know the difference between right and wrong. Without wisdom, it is impossible to rule this great people of yours.”

1 Kings 3:6-9

What is really cool about this Bible is that it highlights in blue verses that are great to pray! For example, in the 1 Kings 3:6-9 that we just read, verse 9 is highlighted blue. You can point this out to your child and ask them to pray these verses in their daily Bible reading. What a great habit to build – prayer while reading the Bible.

This Bible makes the connection between God’s Word crystal clear for even the youngest of children. I’m excited to see my children use this Bible throughout their childhood and see them develop their relationship with Jesus!

Free Sample, Discount Code, & A Giveaway!

If you’d like to download a free sample of this Bible to see if it’s right for your children, you can do so here: http://bit.ly/icb-prayer-downloads You’ll also be sent a 40% off discount code just in case you decide to purchase! The Bible comes in Pink and Blue.

The publishers are giving away a free copy of The Prayer Bible. Enter to win here!

More about the Prayer Bible:

The Prayer Bible for Children helps children develop a heart for prayer and learn the Bible through the popular ICB translation, the simple translation children can read and understand.  Special pages throughout the text highlight the most famous and beloved prayers featured in the Bible. From Abraham’s prayers to the Lord to Jesus praying before his crucifixion to the way Paul prayed for the churches he planted, this Bible will teach young readers about a God who loves to hear from His children and loves answering prayers. This Bible includes a pocket with a prayer journal for children to record their own prayers.

Special features include 160 pages of prayer articles throughout the text and 64 four-color pages featuring poem prayers, Scripture prayers and engaging Kids’ Q&A’s. The full page prayer articles will help children learn how to pray, to not fear prayer, and to see within the Word how and when God’s people prayed. The colorful decorative pages will feature kid-friendly scripture prayers, topical poem prayers and fun questions and answers kids have about prayer. As a value-add, the Bible comes with a prayer journal and a handy pocket on the back flap to carry the prayer journal.

More Resources For The Gospel-Centered Momma

If you’re looking for even more resources to supplement the Bible for your own spiritual growth, parenting, cultivating your child’s faith, check out the Messy Tired Love Resource page.