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7 Tips for Praying with Your Kids at Bedtime



Many of us probably think it’s a good idea, at least in theory, to pray with our kids at bedtime. As we tuck our children in, not only can prayer be a calming routine, but it also teaches them that they can talk with the God of the universe anytime and that he is near.

We may be unsure of what we should pray with them about, though. Plus, when we’re dog-tired or the kids are on the verge of a meltdown, it’s easy to get discouraged and give up all together.

Remembering these 7 tips about praying with our kids at bedtime may help you overcome some of those hurdles.

1. Something is better than nothing.

We often get demotivated when our ideal doesn’t match up with reality. Since we can’t get six things marked off our to-do list we end up doing nothing. We can’t get a full hour at the gym so we don’t go. But we’d often be better off if we took care of at least one thing, or got in 20–30 minutes of a workout. The same is true here. For a thousand reasons, it might be less than ideal to pray with your kids at a given time. But something is usually better than nothing. And this leads to the next point.

2. It’s not how long you pray.

My kids are not likely to sit attentively for long periods of time with heads bowed and a soft glow emanating from their angelic faces. Then again, I have problems as an adult keeping focused in my prayers. So while I certainly want to teach my kids respect for God, I take comfort in the fact that the Bible doesn’t teach that the length of our prayer is directly correlated with its spiritual significance (after all, the Lord’s Prayer is pretty short). It’s usually best to keep things brief and to the point, and then trust God to use it.

3. Repeating yourself can be a good thing.

Will your kids tune you out if you pray the same things all the time? Maybe. Then again, you probably still remember a lot of the things that your parents repeated to you over and over. (There are times I might wish I could forget my dad saying, “If a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right.”) If something is important—like having a heart that follows and trusts in Jesus—then I don’t mind praying for it a lot, both for myself and for them. Doing so makes it more likely that your kids will embrace that importance for themselves over time.

4. You’re the most effective model your kid has.

Many parents have had the surprising/convicting/embarrassing experience of seeing their, ahem, less than desirable actions imitated by their kids. (It can be humbling for my wife and me to listen to our kids play make believe with anything involving a mommy or daddy.) Turns out kids can easily model our bad behavior. But the good news is that kids can easily model good things as well. And you’re the most immediate and effective model you kids have. Seeing you taking to God with them on a consistent basis will demystify the act of praying for your kids and go a long way toward helping them establish it as a habit in their own lives.

5. Involve your kids — even if they’re very young.

One thing I’ve done occasionally (and that I’d like to do more of) is to ask my kids to share one thing they’re thankful for and/or one thing they want to ask God to help them with. This helps kids to see the very real link between prayer and their everyday lives (and it gives you as a parent a better idea of what your child is excited or worried about—which might inform your own prayers). Also don’t be afraid to ask your kids to do the praying. Again, when you pray with them consistently, you’ll be teaching them how to do this by default.

6. Keep the main thing the main thing.

The thing that I most want for my kids—more than doing well at school, getting a good job, having a family of their own, etc.—is for them to trust in and follow Jesus. So when I pray with them, my prayers consistently reflect that. I can’t change their hearts, but God can.

7. Pray the Bible.

If you’re looking for what to pray with and for your kids, you need to look no further than the Bible.

One of the things that God’s word is there to do is to shape our prayers (like the rest of our lives). Let’s use it to do just that.


Find these seven passages on our free Bible Prayer Cards. Download the cards, print and cut them out, and use them to pray with your kids at bedtime.