What’s the point of praying?

Praying with our children is one of the most meaningful and powerful parts of parenting. In fact, teaching them how to pray is quite possibly the most significant thing we could ever teach them! But it is often one of the hardest habits to help them form.

Think about it—what will shape their character, their heart, and their future more than growing in closeness with God? Is there anything more powerful that we could do as parents, when we send them out the door to school each morning, than praying for God’s tangible presence beside them, His covering and protection over them, and His equipping and strengthening within them?

How do we motivate our children to cultivate a life of prayer when it feels unnecessary?

Why is prayer often the bit that gets squeezed out at bedtime or hurried through before we eat? Why do we find it so cringeworthy to pause what we’re doing to pray meaningfully with our kids in the day-to-day of life? What is it about prayer that feels counter-cultural, and why is it even worth fighting for in our families?

What is prayer?

Prayer isn’t simply a time of reflection or a moment of quiet where we experience some peace in the midst of the madness. It’s not just a time to pause and be grateful or to think of others—despite what primary school assemblies might tell us! It can be all of those things, but it’s actually so much more.

For our kids to be excited about praying, we need to teach them that it is a conversation with the living, active, limitless God of the universe! The God who created everything simply by speaking it into being. The God who parted the seas and raised the dead back to life. The God who conquered enemy armies and quieted raging seas. When our kids come to pray, they open a conversation with someone who cares, someone who knows, and someone who can do something about it.

The importance of God’s omnipotence and our dependence

Theologians use the word “Omnipotent” to describe an aspect of God’s character that is utterly unlike us mere human beings. Omnipotence is one of God’s divine characteristics—something only He possesses. It means that He is all-powerful, He has no limits or constraints, He can do anything!

In King David’s words:
“Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.”
(1 Chronicles 29:11)

I think we’ve forgotten, in our culture, that only God is omnipotent. There are all sorts of powerful people in our world: presidents and politicians who like to push limits and communicate their absolute control and authority, or athletes who demonstrate immense power, speed, and precision that I can only dream of. Ever since the Garden of Eden, humans have been trying to fill God’s shoes—to be autonomous, without a need for God; to be omnipotent and powerful just like him.

In order for our kids to know their need for God they need to know that when they pray, they speak to the only Omnipotent One

This is the problem: we are not used to needing others. When Jesus’ friends asked him how to pray in Matthew 6, Jesus taught them to ask for their “daily bread.” This wasn’t supposed to be a wish list of luxury extras that God could top up our lives with if he really wanted to go above and beyond. Jesus taught them to ask God for the basic essentials—literally the bread and butter of daily life.

But instead of turning to God for our bread and butter, we are self-reliant. In fact, any sign of weakness or lack of basic essentials is perceived negatively—not least by ourselves! Our culture has sown the lie that to be successful you must stand on your own two feet, believe in yourself, build good habits, and be disciplined. It is all about you. If you work hard enough, then you too can be omnipotent. The lies of the world have infiltrated our thinking and are hindering our dependence on God. No wonder we struggle to pray. What’s the point of praying when we think we’ve got everything we need anyway?

Read more:

Why didn’t God answer my prayer?

Ten fun Bible and prayer activities to do outside

But we were never supposed to be self-sufficient—providing our own bread and butter, thriving in isolation. We are dependents. We are supposed to depend on someone else! Ironically, our kids are ahead of us in this. They know what it is to depend on someone else. They aren’t shy about asking for help—to tie their laces, to get dressed, to find their missing pencil case, or to fetch their drink. Our children know how to ask for their daily bread. Do you?

But how can we help our children to ask God for their daily bread? They are quick to come to us to solve their problems, and let’s be honest—most of the time, we can! So what’s the point of asking God when parents can do it anyway? How do we motivate our children to cultivate a life of prayer when it feels unnecessary?

Parents, it starts with us. We are so capable so often, that we need to model to our children that we need God too. We are not omnipotent. It’s okay to show weakness, to have “I don’t know” moments. It’s okay to be vulnerable, to be dependent, to ask God for the basic essentials we need each day.

In order for our kids to know their need for God—to realise what the point of praying is—they need to know that when they pray, they speak to the only Omnipotent One, and that the Lord God Almighty is listening and eager to help provide their daily bread.