In our Welcome Center here at the Focus on the Family campus, children have the opportunity to leave their prayer requests with us.
One of my favorites is from a 9-year-old boy who wrote, “Please pray for my brother. He wets the bed. And pray for me. I share the bed with my brother.”
Some prayer requests are much more serious, like an 8-year-old boy who asked God to help his dad stop drinking, so he could be healthy again.
Parents have a critical role to play in nurturing their children’s spiritual life and fostering a prayerful attitude toward the Lord. I applaud my wife, Jean, because she is so good at encouraging our two teenage boys to pray. We’re hopeful that they’ll grow into praying young men.
Our Focus on the Family Broadcast today is a nuts-and-bolts, how-to program designed to equip you to raise your children into praying young men and women.
Our guest is Dr. David Ireland, the founder and pastor of Christ Church, a large multisite ministry in New Jersey. He’s written a book titled Raising a Child Who Prays: Teaching Your Family the Power of Prayer. In it, he describes three ways that children can develop the healthy habit of daily prayer:
- Set a place to pray
- Set a time of prayer
- Set an agenda of prayer
If you’re looking for help in molding and shaping your children so that they become productive in society and expanders of the kingdom of God, tune in to “Developing a Love of Prayer in Your Kids” on your local radio station, online, on iTunes, via Podcast, take us with you on our free phone app, or watch the program on our YouTube channel.
I’d also like to offer you Dr. Ireland’s book Raising a Child Who Prays: Teaching Your Family the Power of Prayer for a gift of any amount. Visit our website or give us a call at 1-800-A-FAMILY (232-6459). We also have many other resources related to marriage, parenting, and faith available in our online store.
We can leave our children property and possessions, but it’s far more important and more substantive to leave them a “God legacy.”
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