A rock-solid prayer life is one of the best gifts you can give your kids. Talking to God, the One who created the entire universe and everything in it is SUCH a high honor and privilege!! But how do you get them there? How do you instill a sense of desire for praying in your little ones?
Here’s how to start a kid’s prayer journal and get them excited about praying!
How to Start a Kid’s Prayer Journal
Let them “catch” you praying
The number one thing that you can do to encourage your kids to pray more, is to let them “catch” you praying. It’s the old saying, “Monkey see, monkey do.” Children mimic what we do…use that for good!
Show them that you value prayer, show them what it’s all about and why you value it so much. Show them that talking to God is special, a high honor, a privilege. Not just something we do when we want something but it’s about cultivating a moment-by-moment relationship with our Creator and best friend.
As a Christian, God means the world to us, and spending time with Him is not only vital to our Christian walk, it’s everything. It’s the air we breathe.
Being a witness to them of our own experience with Christ and how important it is to us, that relationship with Him. When they see, hey mom values this, they will have more of a desire to find out why it’s so important to you, which piques their curiosity about the things of God.
They need a quiet and peaceful space
Next, be sure they have a quiet and peaceful space in which to pray. For me, at one house there wasn’t a good, quiet place so I put a fluffy pillow on the floor in my closet. It was somewhere that I could shut the door and was the quietest room in the house. Yeah, it was uncomfortable on the floor, but it was quiet and that’s what mattered most.
To have that uninterrupted, special, peaceful, quiet time with the Lord…ahhh, it’s just amazing, isn’t it?! 😍
What you value so much, that uninterrupted time you spend drinking Living Water, they need too!
Get them their own special pillow and put it in one section of their room and create a prayer corner. Decorate the prayer corner with fun stuff to entice them into that space, so they want to spend more time there. Maybe get some wall stickers or framed art for the space. Maybe a fuzzy blanket to go with the pillow. Anything that is special to them, that THEY like. Make it a special retreat for them. An oasis in a cruel, cold world.
Pray with your kids daily
Show them how important prayer is to YOU. Again, monkey see, monkey do.
If they see you taking time out of your busy life to stop and pray with them, they will learn very quickly that prayer is important to you, that it’s something we do because we love God and want to spend time with Him no matter what’s going on in our lives. We are never too busy for Christ! He’s our priority!! 💯
This can speak volumes into the heart of a small child.
What WE value, what WE spend time on, it shows them what’s important in life.
We don’t have to talk about it with them all the time, but just being that silent witness to them. If we are praying, they see it, they know. We don’t have to shove it down their throats (which we should never do with anyone), but just being a godly example and witness to them of a life lived out for Christ, a life on fire for the things of God – they see that.
Encourage them to pray
Always talk about praying in a positive way. Encourage them (not nagging) to pray. Praying before bed might be a good time for them. Encourage them to seek after God…to love Him.
Help them read verses where it tells us to pray. Seeing it in the Bible, brings authority to your child’s heart. It’s not just YOU saying we should pray, but it’s in the Bible too, God’s written Word!
THAT’S the standard, that’s the authority.
I remember when my kids were younger, they’d always come to me and ask me questions about God. We’d have routine family time (family meetings) where they could talk to me about anything they wanted, whatever was on their hearts and it was a great time for us to connect together and a great teaching time for me to teach them.
They’d ask me a question about God and I’d tell them. I’d tell them what the Bible says, what we should do to line our hearts and lives up to God, and how to live a holy life set apart for our Creator, but there were a few times when they’d ask a question about God or about life that I just didn’t know the answer too. So, I’d tell them, “Well, let’s find out what the Bible says about it.”
They knew.
In our home, they knew that the Bible was the source of all information (2 Timothy 3:16-17), the source of wisdom, the authority of godliness and life. They knew it is the standard of what we believe, that God wrote the Bible, that it’s not just ME talking, but that the information comes from a higher source, a higher power…God.
HE’S the authority in our home, not me. He elects me to shepherd them, yes, of course, but HE is ultimately the boss.
Over time they saw that heart of me wanting to please God and how important He is in my life. They knew that He’s the authority and that it’s not just mom making up some outlandish rules to follow out of the blue, but the will of our precious Lord and Savior.
You want to show them that. You want to encourage them that HE has the final say. That we line our lives up to HIS standard, that He’s not just a part of our day, He is our entire world and everything flows from Him. He’s not just an add-on, an addition into our already busy lives but He IS our life.
Show your kids that others are praying too
One of our favorite Christian cartoons to watch is the Hermie series by Max Lucado. In the episode, Milo- The Mantis Who Wouldn’t Pray, it teaches children (without being too obvious about it), that praying is super important in the life of a Christian. Having your little ones watch shows like this will definitely help them see the importance of prayer and other godly qualities.
Use a prayer journal
I’ve created this amazing kid’s prayer journal below that is jam-packed with lots of fun stuff. From verses to memorize, to prayers, to thankful /gratitude lists, and even a coloring sheet. These children’s prayers printables will help them get excited about prayer. Make them their own little binder. Kids love having things that are just theirs. Put their name on it and make it special. This is THEIR prayer journal. They can decorate it any way they want!
Write down answered prayers
I don’t think there’s anything more motivating than seeing our prayers answered. To know that the God who made the entire universe and everything in it, is listening to little ‘ol me, is just amazingly unfathomable. Seeing Him answer our prayers encourages us in a way that nothing else can. Keep track of your prayers! I’ve been shocked to see even prayers that I prayed for three years ago, be answered just like I asked God. And I wouldn’t have remembered, had I not of written it down!
Pray for their hearts
Above all, ask God to cultivate in your child, a heart of seeking the Lord. You really can’t do this alone. It’s God who is ultimately in sovereign control of their little hearts. You can encourage them, but their hearts belong to Him. Pray for them night and day. Pray they would seek Him, pray that God would cultivate in them a heart of prayer.
Page templates included in the Kid’s prayer journal:
- Prayer Journal Cover
- Thankful page
- Prayer Prompts
- Verses to Memorize
- Romans 6:4 Coloring Page
Grab the Kid’s Prayer Journal PDF here.
Related Resources:
Want more Christian printables to help your children?
A great place to start is by getting to know God better, His attributes. Here’s some kids activities packs geared toward teaching about who God is. ❤️
