Growing up, I was always told to pray, but I don't remember being actually taught how to pray. Now that I have kids of my own, I am trying to remedy that. As I have learned the power of prayer as a foundational skill for a successful and thriving Christian, I want to train my kids to pray.

As I have started to coach my kids in different ways to pray, I noticed that when my kids tell me they are afraid or worried and I ask them, "Did you tell God?" they would say, "Why? He already knows." Our kids understand what we teach them about the character of God and how He knows everything. But the other part of his character is that He is a good father who wants to talk to us. My reminder for my kids is the same reminder for myself- God knows what happened, but He wants to talk to you.

When I get an email from the school nurse informing me that one of my kids has visited the nurse, I have the information of what happened, but I still want to hear it from them. I want to know how they felt, if they were afraid, and how they are feeling now. As their parent, I love them and want to hear it from them! Our perfect father is the same way; He wants us to come to him like a child at the end of the school day. He is excited to hear every detail of your day, from how you felt about the spelling test, what you thought of the substitute, all the way down to the reason you chose to stick celery in your nose at lunch.

Looking for a school that values teaching kids to pray? Learn more by clicking here.

To help train my kids how to pray, I give them three specific things to tell God:

1. Something that makes you anxious
2. Something that makes you excited
3.  Someone to secretly pray for

Then, when the kids get in the car each day, I ask them – "What did you tell God that made you anxious? How did you feel after you told him?" After discussing the three points, I say, "Can I pray over you?" Which gives me an opportunity to model how to pray. Interestingly, because these are the child's requests, my prayer over their three points is super exciting to them, and they are far more invested when I pray the specifics of each point.

Be warned- this has backfired on me. After doing this exercise with my kids, if I complain or say I am nervous- my kids say, "Mommy, did you pray?" So, this little trick comes with the added bonus of accountability in my own life on making sure I "practice what I preach." If I have learned anything in my ten years of parenting, it's that there is no room for hypocrisy or double standards.

We are raising our kids to be our future brothers and sisters in Christ, and as a family, we can grow into the powerful prayer warriors we are all called to be.

What are the three things you want your kids to talk with God about?

Learn more about prayer and author Lacey Rozell by clicking here.