As a parent, I taught my children that prayer is simply “talking to God.” God loves us, He wants to have a relationship with us, and because of that He hears us when we talk to Him in prayer. I still believe this is an excellent explanation of prayer for children and new believers of any age.
My own prayer life has grown over the years and through the decades I have enjoyed prayer in various “forms”. Prayer journaling, meditative prayer, praying the Scriptures, and allowing the Holy Spirit to pray when I had no words are types of prayer I have learned and appreciated in different seasons.
Having recently been introduced to the work of Kathleen Nielson, I am savoring a season of poetic Scripture prayers. Her “Prayers of a Parent” series bridges from prayers for young children to adult children over the course of four beautifully written books.
Prayers of a parent,
by Kathleen Nielson
Author Kathleen Nielson is well-known for her speaking, teaching, and leadership roles in places like Wheaton College and the Gospel Coalition, where she served as the Director of Women’s Initiatives for seven years. She and her husband Niel have worked with students at Covenant College (where Niel served as president 2002-2012), and at other educational institutions , including a network of Christian schools and universities in Indonesia. She has written or edited a number of books designed to help people unpack the Word of God. As D.A. Carson said, “Kathleen Nielson wants all Christians to be involved in thoughtful and faithful Bible study—and tells us how to do it.” Her four-volume series, Prayers of a Parent, includes short reflections, scripture to meditate upon, and lovely, poetic prayers for children of all ages.
(P&R Publishing, 2021)
I am particularly drawn to how she weaves both practical and spiritual needs into the prayer life of parents. Is a child dealing with the reality of death? She has a prayer for that. Do you desire to see strengthened faith in your child? You’ll find that prayer as well. And who of us doesn’t want joy for our children (and ourselves)?!? Here’s an excerpt from the book of prayers for young children called “For Joy” (p.37):
May my child be quick to laugh
the deep-down laughter
rising from a fearless soul
that revels in the divine protection,
which I pray you would spread over us
to cover happiness and sorrow alike.
May my beloved child take refuge and rejoice
in you, Lord God.
Each book contains 31 prayers - enough for one prayer each day every month. I found myself skipping some and re-praying others. As with any other spiritual discipline, there is no “right” or “wrong” way to use a resource like this one.
Because I often feel scattered and stretched with a running mental list of all the things that need to be done, I find a prayer journal to be my favorite way to pray. It comes with the added benefit of tracking how God has answered my prayers! I can look back from month to month and year to year and see exactly what I was praying for and how God responded. Sometimes my journal includes simple lists, other times I pour out my heart in a “Dear God” letter format. Sometimes it has a flourish which reminds me of “Prayers of a Parent.”
If you have an affinity for the arts and poetry in particular, you will be especially blessed by Kathleen’s work. She creates a rhythm in her prayers that points our hearts and minds back to our God of beauty and order.
And as Kathleen encourages us in her book for teens (p. 16), “...as we share our own growth and delight in the Scriptures day by day, we can pray that our children will experience that growth and delight themselves. We can do little things like provide a cozy, steaming mug of hot chocolate for a boy or girl who gets up early in the morning to read the Bible and pray. Most of all, we can pray.”
By God’s grace we will never stop praying for our children. And as they grow, my prayer for each of us is that we will never stop encouraging them in their own prayer life as well. May God fill us with His Spirit as we grow and pray and parent. Stay faithful, friends.
Jenna serves as the Executive Director of Family Time Training and is blessed to serve alongside her pastor-husband, Mark, at Calvary Church in Englewood, CO. It seems like their children were just toddling around, but are now in college and high school! She’s prayed her way through sleepless baby nights, temper tantrums, middle school {girl} drama, their son’s cancer diagnosis, new drivers, a multitude of sporting events, and launching their daughter off to college.