Aug 12, 20192 min
Published 8/10/19
From: 101 Ways to Strengthen the Parent‐Child Connection
Devotions, Tips, and Activities
By: Michael and Tiffany Ross
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
Family Quest
Using pretend phones, have three fun conversations with your child: (1) a Jabber Fest—the two of you talk over each other. . .with nobody listening; (2) a One-Sided Sling—you do all the talking, never giving your child a chance to respond; and (3) a Silly Sing-a-Thon—your kid sings his or her conversation, using disjointed lines that don’t make sense.
Talk It Out
· Did any of this make sense? Did we have a meaningful conversation?
· If our hearts aren’t into what we’re saying, our prayers can be this way.
(Discuss specific examples with your child.) How does this make God
feel?
· James 5:13–15 gives us some great clues about prayer. Based on these verses, what is prayer, and how does God want us to do it?
Parent-Child Connection
Kids learn to communicate from an early age. Cries turn into words, words turn into sentences, sentences turn into conversations, and so on. A child’s need to interact and be heard drives this natural development. But we all need a little more help when it comes to prayer. Yes, we all have a deep-seated need to know God. And anyone, anywhere, can cry out to Him. But a strong prayer life is taught. As parents, take the time to teach your kids how to pray. The examples above will help them understand the need to connect with God in this way. But the basics of praise, thankfulness, petition, confession, and silence before the Lord are disciplines that must be practiced. And you, Mom and Dad, are your kids’ role models. Pray with them as you help them to develop this fundamental spiritual practice.
Talk to God
As you pray, encourage your child to (1) thank Jesus for being so big and mighty and (2) ask the Lord to help him appreciate what He has done for him.
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