Is there any sweeter sound to a parent’s ear than a child’s little voice praying to God?
Through simple words, occasional giggles, and repeated requests for God to bless the same distant relative who was mildly sick weeks ago, the peculiar-yet-well-meant prayers of our little ones warm our hearts — and the routine comforts them. Perhaps this is why even many non-Christian parents still recite some form of bedtime prayer with their kids.
Today, prayer is often viewed as a “self-care” ritual of positive thinking. In popular parlance, “praying for you” has become “thinking of you,” which has further devolved into “holding space for you,” “sending good vibes,” and other vacuous sentiments.
As Christian parents, how can we help our children see that true prayer is not wishful thinking but the blood-bought privilege of drawing near to our holy God, “as children to a father who is able and willing to help us” (Westminster Shorter Catechism Q.100)?
How do we teach them, and ourselves, to find our deepest comfort and happiness not in the act of praying but in the God to whom we pray?
The primary answer, of course, is to make sure bedtime prayers are not the only time we talk with our kids about spiritual things. Through ongoing family discipleship, especially worshiping together in church week after week, over time our little ones will grow in their knowledge and experience of God and the nature of prayer.
But prayer is not only the fruit of faith. It is also a means of cultivating faith. When we sit down for routine times of prayer with very young kids (who are often as restless as we are tired), where do we start?
Helping Kids Internalize the Lord’s Prayer
When my two younger brothers and I were growing up, our mother taught us the P.R.A.Y. method: praise, repent/lament, ask, and yield.
I didn’t realize it at the time, but these four elements align perfectly with our Lord’s model prayer:
Praise: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Yield: Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Ask: Give us this day our daily bread,
Repent: and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Lament: And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Praise: For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
As it turns out, teaching children the substance of the Lord’s Prayer can be as simple as teaching them to P.R.A.Y.! My mom did not invent the acronym, but she did create a fun character for each element:
- Poppy, a joyful bubble who praises God
- Rainy, a rain cloud with a soft heart who repents of sin
- Airy, a curious balloon who asks God lots of things
- Yessy, an adventurous kite who says yes to God’s plan
These characters—the Pray Pals—have shaped the way I pray. Now, my wife and I have introduced them to our own daughters. What makes my mom’s characters so special is the way they help our girls to not only memorize, but also internalize the Lord’s Prayer. Learning from the Pals, kids are guided to pray through the substance of the prayer’s petitions in their own words.
Helping Kids Enjoy Prayer
When we sit down to pray as a family, especially before bed, we let our girls each choose to be one of the Pray Pals. Whoever is Poppy that night opens by telling God something she loves about him (praise). Whoever is Rainy confesses something she did wrong that day (repentance), or tells God something she’s sad about (lament). Then whoever is Airy asks God for something we need or to bless someone in need. Finally, someone yields like Yessy by acknowledging that God’s plans are best and saying yes to his will.
I love this method because it encourages, even emboldens, children to speak to God in their own words, within a biblically balanced framework, and to truly enjoy prayer. Ultimately, we want them to love prayer not for its own sake but as a way to glorify and enjoy God in light of the gospel.
Helping Kids Embrace the Gospel
Since joining a Presbyterian church five years ago and studying the Lord’s Prayer more deeply as it is expounded in our catechism, I’ve come to see what an incredible gift the Lord has given us in his model prayer. In these simple, timeless petitions, Jesus isn’t only teaching us how to pray. He is also showing us how to live the Christian life.
To pray the elements of the Lord’s Prayer is to recognize our need for a Savior, repent of sin, receive Christ as our King, rest in him for salvation, trust him to supply all our needs, and glorify him with thankful praise forevermore.
Is this not what it looks like to respond to the gospel in faith? When we pray for the salvation of our covenant children, we ask God to work faith in them. And I can think of no better way to prepare the soil of little hearts than by teaching our kids to praise, repent, ask, and yield to the Lord each day.
The Pray Pals have been part of my family for decades, and now we’ve partnered with The Good Book Company to bring these characters to life in their first picture book—so Poppy, Rainy, Airy, and Yessy can join your family’s prayer routine, too.
May the short, simple prayers of our little ones be an ever-sweet aroma to the Father, offered through sincere faith in Jesus; and may they inspire in us a deeper, childlike faith.
Jonathan Hooper is a member of Western Reserve Presbyterian Church and the coauthor of P.R.A.Y. Pals, an imaginative teaching tool that introduces kids to the Lord’s Prayer as they learn about talking to God.