We talk about prayer. Most parents reading this article would say prayer, communicating with God is extremely important. Many still reading know the verse in Jeremiah says God knows the plans He has for us (Jeremiah 29:11) and that we are each fearfully and uniquely made by God so that we can fulfill those specific plans (Psalm 139). With that being said, do we as parents actually put the training of prayer into our parenting curriculum? Do we teach our children to pray?

What if we really believed it was important to communicate with God? What if we believed that communicating with God was more important than academics or sports. That being the case, our parenting schedules would reflect this priority.

Maybe it’s not a matter of knowing that prayer is important. We all know that praying, actually communicating with God, is extremely important. Maybe the challenge is how. How do we train our children to pray?

Teach prayer by example

Training our children to pray must start with making sure the children know that prayer is a world-changing privilege we have. I can teach that by setting an example. Do my children see and hear me pray?

With all the festivities this month surrounding our country’s 250th birthday. This is a great opportunity to teach prayer this month. We can start by praying for those who lead our nation. Whether we agree with them or not, we are called to pray for them. (I Timothy 2:1-2) We can expand out from there. What if every day this month we as families took a moment to pray for a specific thing or issue our country is facing? We teach our children that being a good citizen is more than just celebrating with fireworks and festivities; it is praying for our country. 

A lasting family legacy

When we were younger, we had the amazing privilege of spending a summer driving around the country. Dad had taken a sabbatical from Sheridan House. We loaded up our minivan and drove from South Florida to California, up the West Coast and back through the northern states. It was an amazing six weeks as we stopped all throughout the country, seeing so much of the beauty our country had to offer. We (Robey and I) were each given a task. I managed our budget, the allotted amount we could spend a day, and my brother was in charge of journaling the experiences. I’m pretty sure both of those jobs were chosen to strengthen areas in each of us. Never a missed training opportunity! One of the things that we did on the drive was memorize a verse as a family. 2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” We would spend time in prayer for our nation as we drove through it.

This year offers us the same opportunity as parents. We can look at this month of celebration and humble ourselves and pray for our nation. This is a pivotal time for our country, and we can use it to show our children the power of prayer. I love the verse that comes next. 2 Chronicles 7:15 says, “Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.”

Use this opportunity to come together as a family in prayer. It is a great time to teach and train our children to pray. Really pray, more than just a blessing at mealtime or before bed. Take this month to pray as a family.  

Visit parentingonpurpose.org for more advice from Dr. Bob Barnes and Torrey Roberts.

For more Good News, read the GOOD NEWS July 2026 Issue at: https://digital.goodnewsfl.org/2026/july/#1