Discipling Through Kids’ Bedtime Prayer

Have you ever searched for kids' bedtime prayer on Google? While researching for this article, I did just that, and what came up were many different options on prayers for children to memorize. What did not come up was any articles on how to teach your children to pray. There are many benefits to memorized prayer (Aren’t we all familiar with the Lord’s prayer?), but there is also so much importance in teaching our children how to talk to their heavenly Father. Having personal communication with God is an important part of growing a personal relationship with Him, which is what we ultimately desire for our children.

Inviting your children into prayer with you and making it a part of your normal day is an important part of growing this spiritual discipline; however, bedtime is a time where we do have our children’s undivided attention. Because of that, this is a great time to disciple them in their prayer life.

If you are looking for a sweet bedtime prayer for your littlest ones to memorize, you can find many options here, but let’s go deeper!

Pray the Scriptures

Praying God’s Word back to Him is a wonderful part of prayer. This is a good way to help our kids learn God’s Word and remember His promises. To help them learn this, we can give them a few Scriptures to pray. Here are a few ideas if you’re stuck.

“God, thank you that I can lay down and sleep because You keep me safe.”
“God thank you that I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”
“God, thank you for loving me so much that You sent Your Son to die for me.”
“God, thank you that Your ways are better than mine and You have a plan for my life.”

These verses and prayers can be balm to a child’s heart when they feel anxious, worried, afraid, or have low self-esteem. It can also remind them of what God has done for them and that they need not worry because God is in control.

Prayer Cards

Just like ourselves, our kids can benefit from having God’s Word all around them. We read in the Bible:

“Finally Brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”

Phillippians 4:8

There are so many things all around us that are the opposite of what is listed in the Scripture above. The more true and honest and pure things we can put in front of our children’s eyes, the better!

A great way to do this is to take some index cards and write (or have your children write) some verses, short prayers, or promises of God on them. Stick these up around their bed. You can go over some of them at night when you’re putting them to bed or just allow them to look at the cards themselves as they’re falling asleep. This can also give you and them ideas for how to pray together before bed.

PRAY

There are different acronyms available to help us remember a general order for our prayers. One of those is PRAY: praise, repent, ask, and yield. This can help our children, and us, to remember to praise God in our prayer time, repent of any of our sins, ask Him our requests, and yield to His will.

Another acronym is ACTS: adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication (requests). Some of these words may be too large and new for your child, and you may need to teach them what they mean.

These acronyms are based on the model that Jesus gives us for prayer in the Bible, known as the Lord’s prayer. We don’t want to have our children thinking there are specific rules about praying since we do want them to develop a relationship and make their prayers personal, but it is good guidance to remember to have them praise and thank God and repent and not just ask God for things.

Model It!

What better way for our children to experience prayer than to see it in action. When you are tucking them in and saying good night, that gives you an awesome opportunity to pray for them and with them. You can speak words of life over your children while you pray over them and at the same time model for them what a conversation with God could look like. (I say could because no two prayers need to be the same).

Praying together gives you an opportunity to address certain behaviours and the roots of them as well as share a bond together as prayer partners.

However you choose to incorporate kids’ bedtime prayer into your family, be sure it is happening throughout the day as well. It is so important for our kids to see and know that they can talk to God anywhere, at any time, and not just at meals and bedtimes. When we have a relationship with God, He is with us all the time, and we are always welcome to speak to Him.

How do you like to incorporate prayer into your kids' bedtime routines?