Teaching Children to Pray

Devotion

₁₃And they were bringing children to Him so that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked them.

₁₄But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, "Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; (L)for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

₁₅"Truly I say to you, (M)whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all."

₁₆And He (N)took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them.
-Mark 10:13-16


Children imitate what they see, and the first and most influential role models are their parents. We can't expect our children to innately know how to pray, we need to teach them. We need to show them.

We as parents need to be examples of praying adults for our children. This is the only way that our children will know the importance of prayer and make prayer a daily part of their lives.

So how do we do this? It's simple: practice – practice – practice. It will feel awkward as first. Just like anything that you have not done in awhile; however just like riding a bike, the serenity and comfort caused by these prayers will rush back, feeding the yearning in all of us, especially the children.

Teach them the "Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, angels watch me through the night, until I wake to morning light. AMEN."

Then pray for everyone in the family. Here is a simple prayer. "God bless Mommy, Daddy, etc…… through the family members, Pope Benedict, any other special people, and those in heaven like, Grandpa _____, Grandma_____"

Often after the prayer for the family, if someone was added, my child will ask about that person. God is truly "bringing" that loved one back through our prayers.

Teach your child to pray – show them how to accept God's invitation into eternal life.

Childrens' Stations of the Cross

Children Pray the Rosary