A few years back, I was a volunteer helping out with a group of children. I remember... he was kneeling down on one of the church pews. His hands were together in prayer. His eyes were closed. His head slightly bent forward. Around him, children his age about 6 or 7 years old were already restless. A few of the boys beside him were calling his name. They wanted him to play with them. He looked straight at me with tears in his eyes. He implored, “Please… they are disturbing me.”
My husband was tired. I was exasperated. The two little ones still had so much energy. Every night, it seems like their energy level increases while ours decreases. It was time for our family prayer and the kids would just not keep still, let alone pray. I tried to keep my cool as I have tried to do so many times before. Night time prayer! What a struggle!
In his heavy Spanish accent, Father Ed chuckled as he related to us his experience of preparing children for confession. He would ask each one, “Do you pray?” He was pleasantly surprised that each child said yes. He would follow up with the question, “When do you pray?” Each would reply, “All the time, Father.” Wonderful, he thought to himself. Then, for one of the children, he varied his question. “So, what do you pray?” The child replied innocently, “I play soccer, basketball…”
That day my children wanted to fly their toy kite. Unfortunately, there was no wind that day. I suggested that they pray for wind. My three year old started to recite the prayer for meals, “Bless us Oh Lord…” Oh, bless his little heart!
My friend, a mother of five, brings her children including the little ones to daily Mass. One day after Mass, another mother struggling to make her own two kids behave approached her and asked, “How do you do it?”
Prayer can sometimes be a struggle for our children. And, even more of a struggle for us parents. But, all our little stories of trying, comic or otherwise help our children value prayer. Our goal is for praying to become as natural to them as playing.
Do your children have some time devoted to prayer everyday?
Do your children see you pray, too?
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