Take Time To Listen

Once kids begin to develop their devotional life by reading their Bible, it is also vital to teach them about prayer. In teaching kids about prayer, you want them to know that it is not all about what they say but also about what they hear. Prayer is also listening. It is important to take time to listen, because that is when God may speak to us.

Here are three points to bring home to your kids about prayer.

Take time to listen when you pray. Many people do all the talking in their prayer time with God. They don’t let God get a word in edgewise.

Your prayer time with God is like spending time with your best friend. Have you ever had a friend who liked to do all the talking? They never really wanted you to talk. Is that a good friend? When you are with a good friend you take turns talking. They talk and you listen, then you talk and they listen. So, when teaching kids you want to convey to them that they don’t do all the talking when they pray. Encourage them to take time to listen.

“Be still, and know that I am God:…” (KJV)        Psalm 46:10

God speaks to you through your heart. The voice of your heart is your conscience. One reason that people don’t listen when they pray is because they really don’t expect God to speak to them, or they don’t know that God will talk to them. God does not speak out loud with an audible voice. God speaks to us through an inner voice that we call conscience. It is the voice of your spirit man.

You have to be still and get quiet to hear this inner voice. If you get too busy you will not hear this inner voice. Get quiet. Take time to listen and God will speak. He said, “My sheep know my voice.” God has a voice and He wants to talk to you.

Follow your heart. It’s important not only that you listen to what God says, but that you act on it. If you really believe that God is speaking to you then you will do what He says. Even if it is hard to do. Here is a great time to share your story with your kids about something that you followed and obeyed and (maybe it was hard) but it was right on with God.

How do you teach your kids about listening when they pray?