Recently, our family was out to eat and, as usual, Brayden
led us in prayer before our meal. I say “as usual” because Brayden likes to
pray over all of our meals, and if there is more than a minute long break
between dinner and dessert, then dessert gets a new prayer. Sometimes, he will
let Chris do it, and now Brody wants to lead the charge on occasion, but for
the most part, Brayden prays before our meals right now.
It’s not unusual, even in the Bible Belt where we live, to
get lots of looks from strangers when we bow our heads over our meal, hold
hands and pray in public. Occasionally, someone will make a “that’s so cute”
comment. The other day, however, someone asked me how we got Brayden to do
that.
I found this question really interesting, because we didn’t get Brayden to do anything. Chris and I always prayed before our
meals and at night, we would pray with him and Brody before bed. We often talk
to both of our kids about what prayer is and why we pray. Over time, Brayden started
asking to lead the prayers and we let him.
At night, the kids recite their memory verses and then they
both pray. We encourage them to talk to God about everything; their day, their
worries and concerns, their friends, their sins and of course what they are
thankful for.
The question I received the other day has been weighing on
my mind. Do you ever do things subconsciously? I think we all do, on one level
or another. When I was a kid, there was a Pastor at our church who told me I
“prayed wrong.” I remember being so upset and embarrassed because he said it in
front of a group of kids. I told my parents and I think my Dad had a talk with
him about it. Because, really, how can you pray wrong?
After that I had no desire to pray publically, out loud, for
all to hear. When Chris and I got married, he always prayed for us before our
meals. It wasn’t until Brayden was born and was in the NICU at Arkansas
Children’s Hospital that all of this changed for me.
Brayden was incredibly ill, and when he first arrived at
ACH, his neonatologists told us there was maybe a 70% chance we would ever be
taking him home. When we arrived at our hotel (the hospital is about 4 hours
from our house) we decided to pray out loud together. We continued that
tradition the whole time Brayden was at ACH and after he came home.
I realized something through that. I now had a son that I
wanted to set an example for. Sometimes, our actions speak louder than our
words, and Chris and I both wanted him to see prayers being said unashamedly,
publically, out loud. So, that is what we do.
So, how do you teach your child to pray? How about teaching
them to pray out loud, in public without a second thought?
You set the example.
Jeremiah 29:12
says this:
Then you will call on
me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.
Call on God. Tell Him about your day. Share your heart, your
desires, your hopes, your dreams, your fears and your sins with Him. Ask Him
for guidance and forgiveness and help.
And when possible, do this in front of your kids.
Because, really, there is no better way to teach them.
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