Praying With Your Family
Teach us to pray
What is commonly called the Lord’s prayer appears in two of the Gospels. The settings however are different. In one case Jesus is teaching the masses, while in the other He is answering a question from the the disciples. ( Matthew 5: 5 – 16 ; Luke 11:1 – 13)
Praying with your children and allowing them to see you pray can be one of the most important teaching times about God. Questions like:
What can we talk to God about?
When can we talk to God?
How can we talk to God?
What does God care about in our lives?
Your children are in a sense your disciples. They do look to you to teach them how to approach God.
In the prayer Jesus used to teach his disciples he showed relationship and repect for God. “Our Father in heaven honored and esteemed be your name.” In an age where familiarity is often associated with flippancy, the idea of deep relationship with respect is one that fathers need to model.
The part of the prayer that says, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”, reminds me that we should desire to see God’s way honored. Dads show where their heart’s desire is through prayer.
Praying about the material needs and cares of our lives is appropriate. Jesus prays that their daily food needs would be supplied. As we gather around meals it is appropriate to demonstrate our dependance on God and our thankfullness for His provision.
God is our protection. To seek God’s directing and protecting in our lives should be reflected in our prayer. “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
God loves those around us and as we want Him to love us, He wants us to love those around us. “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespasse against us.” Let your family see the attitudes you want God to demonstrate toward you, by those you demonstrate toward others.
Jesus lets those listening to him that prayer is not a show for God and that we should be persistent in our prayers.
Pray about meals, about your children’s future, about joys and hurts, about good things that happen and bad things that happen. Teach your children about relying on God by letting prayer be in your house through all the you lead your family toward God.
As your children are younger pray with them. As they get older continue to pray with them, but urge them to go to God on their own about the issues in their life. Also talk about answered prayer and unanswered prayer. Be honest. If you don’t understand what God is doing about a prayer say so. By talking about what God has done, as well as your mystification about what God is doing you may help them maintain their faith in God through all life’s circumstances.