See it Pray it!

Praying out loud  always seems to be hard for kiddos. Heck praying out loud for adults is hard too! In our house it usually ends up that I do a lot of the praying, which is good because I am modeling for them how to pray. My goal though is not to only model but also for them to take ownership in their own little prayer lives. I want them to know that prayer is the answer to all of life's problems. It is also the cause of all of life's joys.  I want them to know that they can talk to God about anything at anytime. So where do we begin? Right now my three year old has started praying her own little independent prayers. It is usually some variation of "Thank you God, I love you God Amen!" It is her own and it is original which I love but now I think she is ready to put some real substance into her prayer. When it is time to sit down and pray together I think they forget what they wanted to pray about. I heard an interview with a member from the band Philips, Craig and Dean and he was talking about how he uses pictures to keep him focused in prayer. It got me thinking about children and how they are extremely concrete thinkers! From that was born the See it Pray it board!

To make the board the girls and I sat down together and discussed the reasons why we pray

• To thank God for our blessings
•  To tell Him how much we love Him
• To pray for others in need
• And most importantly to ask God to help us transform our hearts for Him. This last one I believe is so important because it reminds us that we don't have to take on the troubles of the world on our own. If we have a problem take it to the "Divine Physician". He wants to help us overcome life's struggles. 

Then we came up with several things that we should pray for together each night. We are tremendously blessed right now with a new born baby. I also have 5 amazing friends who also have newborn babies. Livi wanted to draw a picture of each baby and write all 5 of their adorable little names on the board. Instead she just drew one picture and I wrote the word "Babies". :) We also included pictures of each member of our little family to remember to be thankful for each other.

Then we added names of people that need prayers right now. I have two sweet friends who are currently in Hospice care. One is a little girl and the other an amazing Mom. We put both of their names on the board. I don't intend to explain to my girls in detail why we are praying for them, but I will explain their love for God and how they really need God right now.We are also expecting a new baby cousin and are so thrilled so they want to pray for their Aunt Lindsey or Zee Zee as they call her.

After that we talked about the things in our lives that we need God's help with.  Since the baby was born the behavior in our house has been more challenging. I think this is just a new baby phase and it will end soon. Hopefully! :) My four year old said that we need to work on "showing each other love more". So she made a heart and wrote the word "Love" inside.  We also decided that we need to work on being better "Listeners" so we wrote that in stickers as well. Praying for these challenges each night will do several things for our family. First, it will allow us to give our problems over to God and let Him heal us. Next, it will open up the lines of communication each night for us to discuss why we are struggling in a positive and loving manner. The best time to teach kids about behavior is not in the heat of the moment. Rather it is in a time where they feel connected and loved. I feel a whole slew of "teachable moments" coming on!

The best part about the See it Pray it board is that I used a magnet board so we can change it anytime as needs arise. I am also going to encourage them each night to think of new people or problems to pray for. Don't forget though... We can pray anytime throughout the day. Teach kids to stop right then in the moment and pray for a struggle. Teach them to pray for a loved one who asks for prayers right there with them. Also teach them to notice when God answers their prayers. Point out how the situation has changed as a result of their prayer and remind them that it is because of God's love. Have fun encouraging your children to know and love God!