In preparation for our 30 days of Prayer Initiative, the following resource is a great way to begin covering your family in prayer. Take the time this month to pray with and for your children. The impact will be far greater than you can imagine.

Praying With and For Your Kids

1. Praise God for his Creation. Pray spontaneous prayers of praise when nature’s beauty is so apparent. Point out rainbows and the colors and the fall, springtime flowers with the buzzing bees and the singing birds. Thank God for such a beautiful earth.

2. Point out answers to prayer and celebrate them with your children. Encourage them to share God ‘s answers to their prayers. When you entertain ministers and missionaries or praying Christians, have them share answers to prayer. Stories are the means by which we pass on God’s active work in history.

3. Bless your children. When your child is hurting, turn the situation into prayer time. They will never forget the association of pain and prayer. When you are wounded or in despair – pray! It is a life lesson. Bless them. Invite God into their difficulty. Lay gentle parental hands of love on them. Pronounce a Biblical Blessing over them. Read a passage of scripture to them, out of their Bible. Mark it. So they will remember it as a promise from the Lord.
   
   The Daily Blessing. Invoke Numbers 6:24–26 over your children. “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.”

4. Teach your children about the armor of God. Help them understand that life is a battle. But, we all have been given critical tools that assure us victory. (Eph. 6:10–18)

5. Establish a family worship time. Create a time when the whole family commits to be together. Worship. Sing. Read Scripture – do that systematically (through the Psalms, or the Gospels, or a Bible Story Book), share needs and pray for one another, take some principle and talk about its meaning. Do this at least once a week.

6. Lace prayer into family gatherings. Don’t just give a birthday gift and light candles, pray for the birthday child. Bless them. Ask God to guide their lives and help them make a difference in the world. Say, “We thank God for __________, a gift you gave to us. What a wonderful boy/girl s/he is – a gift to us, and a gift to the world.” Have them pray a prayer, “God, thank you for the gift of life … help me live my life to honor you …”
7. Pray for people in need – on the spot. Ask God to bless at an accident scene. Pray for the homeless you see on the street. When exposed to a problem on the television news – pray, then and there. Spontaneously. Teach your children to pray about everything. Prayer invites a compassionate heart. It keeps us tender. It reminds us that we should care. Life without prayer creates an insulated life that sees tragedies unfold and does nothing.

Make Holidays – Holy Days. Read the Christmas story at Christmas and take time to thank God for the greatest gift of all – the Christ child. Consider a family gift to God, and his work at Christmas. At thanksgiving, pray prayers of thanksgiving!

8. Prayer-walk your neighborhood. Take a family walk and pray all along the way. Bless the families that live in your neighborhood. Teach your children casual and informal prayer – under the open heaven, as they walk along. Get the video Prayerwalking for Kids from Joey and Fawn Parish.
9. Pray for City and National Leaders. The National Day of Prayer Task Force wants families to adopt a local, state, or national political leader. In doing so, the family commits to pray for and communicate with this leader for at least one year. Kits are available from NDOP at (800) 444-8828. There is also a wonderful video that teaches children about the 10/40 Window called The 10/40 Window for Children. It is available from Joey and Fawn Parish, 6673 Sora Street, Ventura, CA 93003.
10. Take your family to prayer events. When the church has a prayer meeting, take your children. When National Day of Prayer gatherings take place on the 1st Thursday of May, take your children. Other similar community prayer events include – PrayUSA!, Praying Through the Window, March for Jesus, the Global Day of Prayer, Meet Me At the Pole, September 11 Prayer Gatherings at the Courthouse, Meet Me At City-Hall. Encourage your children to take part in such prayer events.
11. Keep a family prayer journal. Record family answers to prayer. Significant spiritual experiences. Promises of God. Make a place for each child. Journal the spiritual experiences, even the struggles and the prayers you pray. What a gift that will make some day. Keep records of missionaries the family has committed to pray for. Make the connection between prayer and people coming to know God. Pray for neighbors. Pray for enemies. Let your kids hear you bless them.

Source: Prayer – the Heartbeat of the Church Resource Guide: P. Douglas Small (Pathway Press: Cleveland, TN; 2008), p. 43.