Recently I blogged about feeling we had dropped the ball with training Madilyn up in the way that we should. I have continued to think about how we can encourage her and help her grow in the ways of truth. I want to become more intentional with her when it comes to Christianity and how we should live.
One of the toughest parts of teaching a child is teaching them to pray. It is so hard to teach them that God is real when he can not been seen. It is hard to teach them that we can talk to God when they cannot grasp the fact that God is everywhere all of the time. I don’t want the extent of her prayer life to be saying a learned blessing over her meals. I want her to learn that praying is normal and a vital part of living as a Christian.
I decided that I needed to be more intentional with her in our everyday interactions. So when she voices a concern about herself or a friend I have started saying “Let us pray about that right now.” Then I actually pray with her. I have begun to encourage her to say a prayer of thanks when good things happen. One night last week she woke up crying and saying her ears hurt. David calmed her down, gave her some medication and then prayed with her.
I really feel that one of the best things we can do for our children is to be intentional in teaching them to seek the truth and to pray.