69 THE BEST WAY TO TEACH PRAYER IS TO PRAY
OVER, OFTEN AND OUT LOUD WITH CHILDREN.

How often do you pray over your children?

This question convicts many parents because they rarely or never pray over their children. Or, if they do pray, it’s after the children are in bed and asleep. Worse, they may only pray when the children are in danger or trouble of some sort.

Your child needs to hear you pray to the Father about them, for them, and over them. They need to hear that you are asking the Lord to bless them and to help them grow up strong and blessed with the abundance of heaven.

When you pray out loud over your child, you are sending them a message of their eternal importance. You express to them that not only are you interested in their success, but God is, too.

Praying often teaches the child good habits of prayer. This is something to do proactively, not reactively. By staying in an attitude of prayer, both you and the child are prepared for life’s ups and downs.

So how do you pray? Start with a prayer of blessing like the one below inserting their name. Don’t be shy. Instead, be glad that God, and your child, will listen.

The Lord bless you and keep [name]; The Lord make His face shine upon [name], And be gracious to [name]; The Lord lift up His countenance upon [name], And give [name] peace (Num 6:24–26).