The driving force and central theme of Fathers Truly Matter is a burning desire to help children adopt good habits and avoid bad ones. While prayer is a foundational good habit, different folks hold different beliefs. Although many of the sentiments below are universal, this post was written with a heart for Christianity. For folks who vehemently reject Christian principles, please visit our post on Spiritual Health.

Before diving into this post, let’s reflect on something that has always given me chills as it relates to how the Bible confirms the Earth’s position in space. When the Old Testament book of Job was written some 2,500 years ago, the Hindu people depicted the Earth mounted up on the backs of elephants and the Greeks portrayed that their god Atlas carried the heavens on his shoulders. Divinely inspired some 2,000 years before Italian astronomer Galileo was sentenced to life imprisonment for his belief that the Earth revolves around the sun, the Bible got it precisely correct:

“God stretches the northern sky over empty space and hangs the earth on nothing.”
—Job 26:7 NLT

Prayer Connects Us with God
Prayer connects us with the architect of the universe. God, our loving Heavenly Father, wants us to communicate with Him, invite Him into our lives, learn more about His Plan for us, and find peace in His Will. No matter what we are going through, prayer helps us live healthier, happier lives, grounded in His Love.

Let Children See Us Praying
Children can start learning to pray even before they say their first word, simply by watching us pray. Invite them to join in as best as they can; instill in them that prayer is a regular part of life.

How to Pray
When we teach our children to pray, help them feel the prayer in their minds and hearts—and not only the recitation of words. Teach children to say The Lord’s Prayer. Thank God for spiritual guidance and for eternal life through His Son Jesus Christ. Express reverence for God’s unlimited, unconditional love. Ask for forgiveness and for the strength to overcome our earthly challenges, all in accordance that His Will be done.

Family Prayer Routines
Family prayer routines can instill prayer habits that last a lifetime. Saying grace before mealtime shows gratitude for the blessings of sustenance. While fathers establish the routine of saying grace, we don’t always have to lead our family in prayer. By asking one of our children to take the lead from time to time, we engage them in prayer leadership. When rising in the morning, thank God for the day. When tucking children in at bedtime, ask for a restful night so we can honor Him to the best of our abilities tomorrow.

Teach Comfort
Teach children to associate prayer and God with the deepest well-being and comfort. When they are bathed and pajamaed, snuggle up together while dad reads Bible stories. Long after these moments have passed, the good feelings of family love will be associated with God’s Word.

Teach Prayer as a Conversation
Prayer constantly renews our relationship with God, appreciating and respecting his unending love and power. Teach that prayer is a conversation that speaks with God from our hearts—a deep and meaningful conversation with heartfelt intentionality and purpose.

Overcoming Shyness
Children often don’t know how to pray. Help them overcome shyness by starting a prayer and encouraging them to jump in when they’re ready. We can ask them to pray about something that’s on their heart and support them if they start to lose focus. Ask them to repeat our prayers, supporting their learning as they paraphrase our prayerful sentiment in their own words.

Be Supportive
As children grow, they experience fears and worries. No request is too small or too big for God. Remind children that they can talk to God about anything and everything. With the confidence that God is always there to listen, and that He loves to hear our every prayer, our children can remain connected with the most powerful of all lifelines.

His Will
Sometimes, we follow all of God’s guidance and our prayers seem to go unanswered. Even if we ask with pure motives, our requests may not be aligned with His Divine Plan. We must not let the discouragement of having a prayer go unanswered cause us to question His Love. He is all-knowing and all-powerful; have faith and trust in His Will.

When we read the profound spiritual text contained within the timeless pages of the Holy Bible, our spirits can be awakened by The Word of God—the Bible—the Best Instructions Before Leaving Earth.

Prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
One of the most amazingly restorative and beautifully written prayers I have ever read, the prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a waterfall of unending spiritual abundance.

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, filled with infinite love, broken by our ingratitude and pierced by our sins, yet loving us still, please accept the consecration that we make to Thee of all that we are and all that we have. Take every faculty of our souls and bodies, and day by day, draw us nearer and nearer to The Sacred Heart, and there, as we shall hear the lesson, teach us Thy Holy Way.

Prayer Helps us Develop a Relationship with God

“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” —Romans 8:38-39 NKJV

Prayer Provides Answers

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” —Matthew 7:7-8 ESV

Prayer Helps us Find Direction

“Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.”
—Proverbs 16:3 NLT

Prayer Gives us Strength to Avoid Temptation

“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. —1 Corinthians 10:13 NKJV

Prayer Aligns our Will with God’s Will

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” —Romans 12:2 KJV

Prayer Helps us Accept God’s Will

““For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”” —Isaiah 55:8-9 NKJV

Prayer Can Work Miracles

“But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!” —John 15:7 NLT

Prayer Invites the Holy Spirit into our Life

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” —John 14:26 KJV

Prayer Helps us Become more like Jesus

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
—Galatians 2:20 NKJV

Pray Always

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”
—Philippians 4:6-7 NLT