Making Prayer a Priority by Melanie Robbins

God answered my son’s prayer for a $85 dollar Lego set with a YES. He found 70 dollars on the ground and with that and what he had in spending and recycling money he was within one dollar of the amount he needed. God showed Nathan that He definitely cares about him (my son is a thinker, he asks questions and wants proof), that He listens, and that He answers prayer. My son saw that prayer is powerful. My son prayed, believing that God would answer that prayer; he would check the mailbox looking for a check every day. He didn’t doubt that God could and would answer his prayer.

18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” Ephesians 6:18

I am a big believer in the importance and power of prayer. As a result I try and pray often with and for my children. I thought I would share some of what we do to make prayer a priority.

We pray with them throughout the day. We pray at meals and at bedtime but also sometimes in the morning when they first wake up. We pray before we start school. Before we leave on a trip, there are prayers lifted up for safety, and when we arrive and/or return we try to say a prayer of thanks. When they or others have a need or are struggling, we try and stop and pray. For example if they are having a difficult day and are arguing with each other, I will sit them both down and stop and pray. I will also say a prayer with them when mom is having a difficult day. If something good happens or we hear of an answer to prayer, we try to acknowledge and give God thanks.

We pray for different things each day. On Mondays we pray for our church and our pastor and his family. On Tuesdays we pray for those we are supporting and/or sponsoring. On Wednesday we pray for the World (leaders, sick, lonely, hurting), On Thursday we pray for Extended Family. On Friday we pray for our Friends and the Unsaved People.

We have them listen to others praying out loud. They hear us pray out loud often, but we also have taken them to our church’s monthly Evening of Prayer. There they hear others pray for our church and others in need. My husband took them one month when I was gone and they asked if they could go again the next time there was Evening of Prayer.

We pray for their heart and character and ask others to as well. On the Passionate Purposeful Parenting website is a calendar listing different godly attributes for each day. I have prayed that calendar and asked others to join us in praying those things for our children.

We use ACTS to remember to not just ask for things.

• A – Adoration
• C – Confession
• T – Thanksgiving
• S – Supplication

We remind them that prayer is a form of worship. I like how Charles Stanley puts it, “Intercession means that we rouse ourselves up to get in the mind of Christ about the one for whom we are praying.”

It is my hope and prayer that my children will truly see and believe in the importance of prayer. My desire is that prayer will be a vital part of their personal faith and walk with God. I was encouraged the other day when my daughter asked if I could join her in praying that she would have a good day and have self-control. She knew it might be a difficult day for her because she hadn’t gotten much sleep and it was going to be a very busy day. I bet you can guess what my answer was.

Melanie is wife to Tyler; married 15 years. She is a homeschooling mom to two precious children.  She is passionate about many things including her faith, living life purposefully, and parenting.  Her passions and a prompting from God led her to start Passionate Purposeful Parenting, a website created to try to help encourage and equip parents.  She is a lover of wisdom and enjoys spending time with friends and family (especially in God’s creation), camping, attending cultural events (doesn’t happen too often), and being physically active. We are grateful that Melanie also contributes here at Habits for a Happy Home. If you missed her first post, be sure to click over to Who is Number One?