Prayer Cards for Your Children

This link provides seven printable cards to leave around the house to help us parents remind ourselves to pray for our children as they grow and mature in the world. It's so easy to remember to pray for those who are ill, who are less fortunate, who need specific things... but sometimes we overlook praying for those who are in our lives all the time, day in and day out.

Print any (or all) cards which you think might prove helpful to you in remembering to ask for God's help as you raise your children, and as you interact with them each day.

Thanks, When You Rise!

Do we have to teach prayer?

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For adults, prayer is sometimes taken for granted. Yes really- sometimes we take for granted that we know what to do when we make mistakes and need forgiveness, when we are fearful and don't know which way to go, when we are hurting and need comfort. We become silent, shut out the world for a few moments and visit the inner peace that God has bestowed upon each of us.


But is this knowledge innate? Are we born knowing how to seek this solace and ask for God's peace? I don't claim to know the answer to that question, but what I have found, in my own experience, to be true is that children benefit from some guidance when it comes to prayer. I believe that children in some ways are closest to God thanks to their innocence and naivete, but I don't forget that part of my job as a parent is to prepare my children for adulthood, even now when they are still children.

To me, instruction on how God wants us to pray, and how we can use prayer to gain access to our inner connection with God and His will, is a valuable tool for children to have as they seek to know God throughout their lives. As Episcopalians we are called to use Scripture, tradition, and our own reason and insight to live godly lives. What kind of parent would I be if I didn't help to prepare my children for that journey by teaching them how to pray for strength, mercy, grace, and guidance?

So, when I find resources which lend themselves to teaching children about the art of prayer, I get excited about it and want to share!  I found a great free printable resource over at Homeschool Creations today. While the pack isn't specifically Episcopal, I really liked the author's presentation. Here's the link: http://homeschoolcreations.com/PrayerforaChild.html

Good luck!

Is there anything too small?

Earlier today I was helping my son, age 4, to open a fruit roll up that his auntie bought him and I was having a difficult time doing it. The candy was so sticky that it wouldn't even roll off the cellophane wrapper and my son was desperate for the whole thing to be unrolled without a tear. I worked on it for a minute or so and then resigned, telling my son matter-of-factly that I wasn't going to be able to pull the candy off in one whole piece.

"You can do it, Mom!" His sure little voice replied. "Anything is possible with Jesus! Just ask him for help!"

Well. I didn't see that coming. I probably should have told him that he was right, and said a little prayer right then and there, not just for a safe delivery of the fruit roll up out of its wrapper, but also of thanks for my son's insight into the things that really matter.

I didn't though. I giggled a little and told my son that Jesus was probably helping others with bigger problems and maybe we shouldn't bother him with our small challenge. My son accepted this statement readily enough because by this time he had his candy in hand and was on to other tasks. I'm sure he's forgotten about the whole exchange by now. But I haven't.

I missed out on an opportunity here. In the classroom we called these opportunities "teachable moments," and they were the most powerful teaching tool we had. These were the moments when a child opened himself up and allowed you to see into this thoughts and his heart; when he asked you a genuine question simply out of interest or shared a personal insight, and allowed you to teach him something through his own experience. I realized- too late- that such an opportunity had passed me by today, although it wasn't what my professors in grad school might have intended when they taught me this concept.

Today it wasn't about what I should have been teaching my son; it was the reverse. My son taught me today. He reminded me that God knows all of our struggles- even our little ones. He reminded me that it's never a bad time to pray for grace, even if it is only to handle a difficult candy wrapper. We should, as believers, put our faith in Him and remember to ask for help when we need it because no man, woman, or child lives life alone. It is all to easy to fall into the trap of self-importance, but in reality it is through humility and prayer that we become great, because it is through these things that we realize our true purpose in life.

Sometimes it just takes a child- and his candy wrapper- to remind us of what is truly important, and that nothing is too small to ask God for help.