by Heather Tomasello

Created on: January 06, 2009

For many parents, teaching children about prayer and how to pray is a daunting task. After all, we ourselves find the concept hard to grasp.

"You mean the Creator of the Universe actually wants to hear from me?"

"Do my prayers make a difference?"

"When I pray I feel silly, like I'm talking to myself."

Friend Wells, pastor at Christ Community Church in Richmond, VA, points out, "If you believe God is there in the room with you, isn't it sillier not to talk to Him?"

Wells is the father of four children, now teens and young adults. He says he and his wife defined prayer as "talking with God," nothing more elaborate than a conversation with a good friend. Even so, Friend says he's constantly surprised by the honest, no-frills approach his children take.

Daughter Kristi drove this home a few years ago. On a whim, Wells decided to buy her a rod of her own for an upcoming fishing trip. When he presented her with the gift, Kristi was grateful, but not surprised.

"Thanks, Dad. I just prayed yesterday for God to give me a fishing rod."

David Goldsmith, educational director at Beth Ahahab Congregation's School, in Richmond VA says he often tells parents, "Don't think you know more about God than your children do." He feels that young children can have deep faith unaffected by the doubt and skepticism that plague adults.

Goldsmith coordinates the school's Tefillah, or prayer service. He says he incorporates traditional Hebrew prayers with not-so-traditional questions, designed to cause his students to think about the concepts behind the words.

"The most-common prayer we use is an affirmation of faith. 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord Your God is One God.' I want the students to think about what that actually means," he says.

Pastor Wells agrees that "communication with God is an essential part of the Christian life."

How can you teach your children to communicate with God?

Make prayer a habit. Set aside a time each day and be consistent. Bedtime and dinner are times commonly associated with prayer, but you may find other times work better (such as time in the car driving to soccer practice, an evening walk, etc.) Wells says that his family, like most, finds it difficult to coordinate their hectic schedules to have prayer time together. They've overcome this obstacle by instituting dinner devotions.

"Dinner time is of highest priority in our house," Wells says. "We eat at the same time every day, everyone is expected to be there and we read scriptures and pray together, before anyone takes

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