We are working through a Discipleship Map in this 3-week series! In the last post, we answered the
question:

1. Has my child ever accepted God’s gift of salvation through Jesus?

I shared some options based on your answer to that question for each of your children. Please go back
and read that post if you didn’t get a chance to read it, yet! It will set the stage for reading this post!

Today’s question is the next step in discipling your child:

2. Does my child know how to talk with God in prayer?

a. If not, you have some good options to train your child how to pray:

i. Make time to have a Prayer Date with your child and explain that prayer is
thinking thoughts to God and that He hears us when we think thoughts to Him
in prayer.
ii. Before a meal you can simply thank God for the food you are about to eat and
at bedtime you can thank God for the day you had, highlighting a significant
event of the day, praying for good rest, and for energy for tomorrow. Bedtime is
also a good time to pray for others in your child’s life.

b. If so, you have some great next steps you can take to embolden your child’s prayer life:

I. Encourage your child to pray aloud during family meal or bedtime prayers.
II. Start a Prayer Journal with your child (a spiral notebook works great) and write
down prayer requests together, making sure to pray through the requests
regularly and taking note of when God answers those prayer requests.
III. When your child is dealing with difficulties in a friendship, pray with
your child about that situation. Remind your child to continue to pray for that
situation, waiting for God’s response.

Some thoughts to share with your child as you train your child about prayer:

 We can talk to God anytime, anywhere, alone or with others, and He will hear our prayers.
 God always answers prayers but not always how we expect Him to. I use a stoplight to teach this
point. Sometimes God answers with a clear NO – red light. Sometimes God answers with a WAIT
– yellow light. And sometimes God answers with a YES – green light. We can always trust Him to
answer our prayers in the way that would be best for us no matter if we understand His answer
or not.
 Prayer is the best weapon we have against worry and anxiety. It can change our minds about
situations, change our feelings, change our perspective, and remind us God is always with us.

The next question in our Discipleship Map is:

3. Does my child know how to read the Bible in his/her own?

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6

What is your next step in discipling your child’s prayer life?