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Teaching Your Children to Pray Scripture

Jenn Soehnlin

Friday, June 20, 2025

Near the end of the school year I asked each of my sons what they wanted to learn over their summer vacation. I usually had a list of skills I hoped we’d work on over the summer, but this time, I wanted to hear from them. What did they want to learn?

Without missing a beat, one of my sons said, “I want to learn to pray like you talk about in your book.”

His response stunned me—in the best way. I love praying Scripture. In fact, I wrote a whole book about it because I’ve experienced how deeply it has transformed my own prayer life and spiritual growth. But in that moment, I realized I hadn’t been as intentional as I could have been in teaching my own children how to pray this way.

My son’s request reminded me of the disciples. Out of all the things the disciples could have asked Jesus to teach them, their only recorded request is that He teach them how to pray (see Luke 11:1). There is a desire in those who love the Lord to want to know how to pray—or to grow in their prayer life and prayer practices—so that we can more intimately connect with our Heavenly Father.

Our children are no exception. They want to learn how to pray, but just like with most skills, they need to be taught.

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” Deuteronomy 6:4-6

This verse reminds us that we are to teach our children how to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, and strength, and that love for the Lord grows as we spend time in His Word, and in prayer. Which means we need to teach our children how to read, understand, and apply God’s Word, and we are to teach them how to pray.

Two books I recommend regarding teaching a child to pray:

1. Pray with Me: Helping Your Children Engage in Authentic and Powerful Prayer by Erica Renaud
2.Raising Prayerful Kids: Fun and Easy Activities for Building Lifelong Habits of Prayer by Stephanie Thurling and Sarah Holmstrom

Disclosure: some of the links in this post are Amazon affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item on Amazon, I will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support!

Why Teach Children to Pray Scripture?

God’s Word is living and active (Hebrews 4:12). When we help our children learn to pray it, they’re not just learning to talk to God—they’re learning who He is and how much He loves them. Scripture becomes more than a memory verse; it becomes the foundation of their relationship with Him.

God gave us two powerful gifts to connect with Him–prayer and His own Word. Both are powerful on their own. And both are extremely powerful when combined together. Teaching our children how to pray Scripture equips them with two tools to not only connect with God, but to defeat the powers of darkness.

Intentionally teaching your children to pray Scripture doesn’t have to be complicated. You don’t need to be a Bible expert or have dozens of verses memorized. It begins with small, meaningful moments that help them discover that God’s Word is powerful and personal—just like He is. And it includes intentional moments of using God’s Word to shape your child’s prayer.

4 Simple Ways to Help Your Child Pray Scripture

1. Start with One Short Verse at a Time

Choose a verse that relates to what your child is experiencing or you’d like them to remember. Let your child help choose a verse to pray together. Or ask your child what is their prayer request and then see if you can find a Bible verse that matches that request together. You can use a Bible concordance, search on Google for verses about a particular topic, or show them some of your favorite verses that relate to that topic.

Help them personalize the verse (changing or adding pronouns and adding in personalized prayer requests/praises) and turn it into a short prayer. For example:
“God, right now I’m feeling afraid about ___ but I know You are with me and I can trust You.” (Psalm 56:3)
“Thank You, God, for being so good. Thank You especially for ___ .” (Psalm 107:1)

Keep it simple and repeat it often so the verse can grow deep into their hearts—and their prayers.

2. Make the Scriptures Interactive and Memorable

When my younger son was having night terrors, I wrote down the verse “I will lie down and sleep in peace for you, oh Lord, are with me” (Psalm 4:8) on a white sheet of paper. My son loves to draw, so I let him illustrate it and then we hung this verse over his bed. Every night before bed, I would have my son read the verse and then we would pray it together. Within a few days he was no longer experiencing any more night terrors. There is indeed power in claiming and praying God’s Word!

Once you or your child have chosen a verse to meditate on and to pray, have them interact with it in a way that speaks to them, their learning style, and their giftings.

For example, your child could:

The sky is the limit. Get creative. Let your child be creative. These tools help make Scripture easy to memorize, which then makes them easy to pray.

3. Model It in Daily Life

Children learn by watching. Let them hear you pray Scripture in your own conversations with God. For example:

Before school:
“God, go before us today. Thank You that You never leave us.” (Deuteronomy 31:8)

At bedtime:
“Thank You, Lord, that You give sleep to those You love.” (Psalm 127:2)

When in a hard or scary situation:
“God You are our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1).

Use real-life moments as opportunities to show them how to talk to God through His Word.

4. Pray the Prayers in the Bible

Another simple way to help children pray Scripture is by using the prayers we find in the Bible. These are prayers that people in the Bible prayed to God in all kinds of situations—when they were afraid, thankful, in need of help, or just wanting to praise Him. One of the most well-known examples is the Lord’s Prayer, which Jesus gave His disciples as a model.

Here are a few beautiful and simple prayers straight from Scripture that may be meaningful for your children to guide their prayers:

Teaching your child to pray Scripture doesn’t have to be formal or fancy. It’s about creating space for them to hear God’s voice and respond with their hearts. Whether it’s a whispered prayer before school or a verse repeated at bedtime, every moment and every verse matters. You’re planting seeds of truth and faith that will grow in God’s time.

Remind your children (and yourself) that prayers don’t need to be perfect or polished, but rather that prayer is simply talking to God and that God hears and delights in their prayers (see Psalm 116:1-2).

And as you guide them, you’re also anchoring your own heart in the truth of God’s Word—together.