by Amy Taylor

Created on: January 21, 2009

Young children often have what seems to adults like a direct connection with God. Little kids can tell some of the most amazing stories about angels that visited them in their dreams, they see clouds that remind them of God and they have no qualms about belting out a stirring rendition of "Jesus Loves Me" at the top of their lungs in the middle of the food court at the mall. Yet when asked to pray they either clam up, whisper so quietly we're not even sure God can hear them or they ramble on and on, choosing to use prayer time to delay bedtime as long as is humanly possible.

There is, of course, nothing wrong with any of these responses to prayer. I firmly believe God hears the prayers of children no matter what form in which they happen to come. But as caring and loving parents, most of us would like to develop our children's prayer time into a healthy and fulfilling part of their spiritual life. For that, they will need a little direction and the sooner you start the better. Even children as young as two can begin a lifelong commitment to prayer.

When teaching your toddler to pray it is important to let them know they can talk to God about anything. And yes, that includes Winnie the Pooh, their imaginary friend, their eyes, their shoelaces and anything else that pops into their little heads. But there are some ways you can guide their prayer life to make it fruitful and positive.

1. Pray through your day with them. Thank God for the sunrise, the flowers you see on your morning walk, pray for their friend who's coming over for a play date, ask for protection for the people in ambulances you see or hear, etc.

2. Set limits or challenges. Ask your child to think of 5 things to thank God for and 5 people to pray for. They can count these on their fingers as they pray.

3. Bible verses put to song can be a great way to enhance your prayer time and show your little ones how scripture fits into their daily lives.

4. Don't get stuck in a rut. While it is important to have some prayer rituals (i.e. praying before meals or bedtime), try to mix it up as much as possible. Go around the table and have each family member contribute one thing to be thankful for, choose a country/region of the world and spend a week praying for the people of that area, etc.

With a little direction, it is most likely that your young children will come to look forward to their daily prayer time and you might be surprised to hear and see how fruitful their prayers become. You may even notice that your prayer life takes a turn for the better, as well.

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