“As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:15
Joshua was a man of great importance and had many responsibilities as leader of the Israelites. Yet of all the great things he said and did, there is one statement that stands out: “As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD” (Josh. 24:15). Part of Joshua’s greatness was as a father who taught his family to worship and praise God.
We can be certain that part of Joshua’s parenting included teaching his children how to pray. What a lesson he can teach us as well! Prayer training begins early in life, even before children learn to speak. Teaching them to fold their hands before and after meals shows them that prayer is part of our daily lives. Perhaps one of their very first prayers might simply be, “Abba (Father), Father.” And in bed at night many children learn to pray, “Now I lay me down to sleep . . .” Paul realized the importance of teaching Jesus’ little lambs when he wrote in 2 Timothy 3:15, “From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures.”
Besides repetitive prayers, children also learn that prayer can be simply talking to God, in their own words and from their own hearts. It is good to teach children that extemporaneous prayers can be prayed anytime and anywhere and that no request is too small or too big. Some families find that a prayer list is beneficial for the children to organize their thoughts. Children should know that God loves to hear their prayers and he wants them to come to him often just as they do with their parents.
Nothing teaches our children the importance of prayer more than seeing their moms and dads praying. Childhood is filled with mimicking those with whom children are closest. Children learn the importance of prayer by watching and hearing Mom and Dad in prayer.
God stressed the importance of training the family to know and love God. He says in Deuteronomy 6:6,7, “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”
Are you a prayer example to those you love?
Happy the home where Jesus’ name
Is sweet to every ear;
Where children early speak his fame,
And parents hold him dear.
Henry Ware, Jr.