Fill in the Blank....

What an amazing day with my daughter. Some of the things that she says just amaze me. Our children are so paying attention to everything we say and do. As a mom, I love those moments when our kids get it. Really get it. Own it for themselves. Like at a play date when they say, I don't think we should turn the radio on, there may be bad things on the radio station if it doesn't get the Christian channel. Ahhh....music to my ears! Or, mom, why would there be a magic show at church when the Bible says magic is wrong. Love those little sponges! This sponge thing does backfire...my daughter has picked up some of my attitude which I admit to.

So, tonight when we were getting ready for bed we had our prayer time. For a while, we were struggling with our daughter being able to pray out loud. We didn't want to force it but it is important so we can see where her heart is. The Lord pressed upon my heart this cool way to get her to pray that wasn't intimidating and was interactive. Thought I'd share it here. We call it the Fill in the Blank Prayer. Here is how it goes:

Mom: Dear ______

Child: God

Mom: You are _______

Child: says whatever they think of when they think of God

Mom: Thank you for ___________

Child: whatever they are thankful for

Mom: Help me to ____________

get the picture? I ask each question a few times. This has helped my daughter open up and share her heart. So tonight, God was mighty, awesome, exalted and Elohim....seriously? She's 5. Where did exalted come from? Elohim came from the cool song posted on this blog. The cool part was she knows Elohim is creator God. Our children are watching and listening. Ask yourself, What are they seeing and hearing? It is so cool to see through your kids eyes. She describes God in such amazing ways.

She was thankful for her long list of family & every pet ever owned as expected for any 5 year old pet lover. She wants help being obedient. Cool....she does know her obedience is an issue and it's an issue God can help her with. Without this method of praying she never would have prayed about that and I never would have know that she recognizes her disobedience as being wrong.

I normally close her prayer by saying something like...now I'm going to bed ___....and she prays about her dreams. She use to struggle with bad dreams and prays about this every night.

Another cool praying method a friend taught us is the 50/50 prayer (thanks JBACG). Have your child pray something for themselves and then the same thing for a friend. Like "Help me obey my mom & help 'friend' obey their mom too." This helps them to think of others.

So moms & dads....give these a try if you are looking for something new in the prayer department with your kids. My heart is blessed every time I hear what my daughter thinks of God. Remember they are watching and taking the good, the bad, and the godly from us. Be a light to your kids...they are the light of the world to the next generation.