In today’s episode, we’ll be talking about prayer, but probably not the kind of prayer you grew up doing—if you’re anything like us, like the typical Christian family in the US.
We’ve been talking about prayer a LOT for the past few months, not always on the air, but Renee mentioned in our 20 Questions for a New Year episode that she’d been doing a deep dive into the subject for a couple of years now, and –because we’re friends—a lot of that she’s shared with me.
It’s like the second-hand prayer effect!
If we teach our children to pray, we might focus on the POSTURE of prayer—let’s bow our head or fold our hands, maybe get on your knees at bedtime or raise your hands to celebrate.
We might also focus on the WORDS of prayer—what do we say to our Creator? What can we share with Him? Is it ok to be mad at Him? To doubt?
Maybe you’ve seen a lot of prayer examples as you grew up—or maybe you didn’t—but they were LIKELY spoken public prayers in a worship setting, or possibly praying before bed or meals at home. Did you see your parents pray? What did that look like?
Do your kids see YOU praying? What does that look like to them? Do they ask you about what you’re doing? Is it a happy time or an emotional time?
I know for both of us…we got a lot of the posture and the words and the theology behind prayer.
Phil 4:6-7 Don’t be anxious but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God.
1 John 5:14 If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
Mark 11:22-25 Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours….forgive others.
Matthew 6:6-8 When you pray, don’t keep babbling…your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
James 5:13-18 Is anyone in trouble? He should pray. ….the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well…
Luke 11:9-13 Ask & it will be given to you; seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you….
But one aspect we DIDN’T get was about the OTHER side of the conversation of prayer: hearing from God, listening to His answers.
Our guest on today’s episode is our good friend, Sara Bryson, who has been one of the people who most recently has introduced me to some of the nuances of that HEARING FROM GOD aspect. She’s also a wonderful artist and you can find her on Instagram @sarabrysonart !
SARA: introduction. Married to Adam (a school principal), has 3 children; Is a teacher and a “prayer facilitator” through the Freedom Prayer ministry (Freedom Tools by Andy Reese and Jennifer Barnett).
There’s so much more to prayer than the one-sided part that WE offer. There’s an energy aspect to it, (God’s Transmitters by Hannah Hunard), where we actually can affect change in people we’re praying for. (By the way, if we didn’t think that was the case, why would we actually pray?? )
“An intercessor is one who is in such vital contact with God and with his fellow men that he is like a live wire closing the gap between the saving power of God and the sinful men who have been cut off from that power… Faith brings us into contact with Jesus Christ and love brings us into contact with those for whom we pray. The application of those two principles will make us effective intercessors or transmitters of God’s love.”
Sara, can you talk a bit about James 4:8 (Draw near to God and He will draw near to you)? What do you think that verse is saying?
So, if this is something we want to make sure our kids know, how can we as parents actually demonstrate this to our kids? How can we walk them through a real encounter with God?
Kids, as we know, don’t have the skeptic gene turned on yet. They’re open and curious and have a huge capacity for connection that we sometimes don’t give them credit for. (Maybe sometimes we put our own assumptions or doubts on them and we’re just muddling through ourselves, so we don’t expect our kids to be able to outpray us, but they can!)
You wanted to make the point that this the kind of encounter that James 4:8 is talking about is NOT “kids using their imaginations.” Can you say more about that?
Contemplation is a very active way of praying that engages the mind and heart and stirs up thoughts and emotions… Contemplating a Gospel scene is not simply remembering it or going back in time. Through the act of contemplation, the Holy Spirit makes present a mystery of Jesus’ life in a way that is meaningful for you now. Use your imagination to dig deeper into the story so that God may communicate with you in a personal, evocative way.
So walk us through. You’re a mom with some space at the end of your day, maybe it’s near your child’s bedtime and you’re going to do your regular prayer at bedtime. But you decide to let God have His turn. Maybe He has something to say.
What might that look like? How would that unfold?
Pray thru Psalm 23….
Before you read it, have your child close their eyes & think about God as a Father. Ask them to describe details about God.
How close is He to them? How do they know?
What does it feel like to be near Him?
What kind of feelings do they think God has toward them?
Tell them you’re going to read the Psalm. Ask them to picture where they are and where God is as you read it slowly.
After you read, have them open their eyes and ask if any part stood out to them. Was there any part where they got a sense of where God was with them? Have them describe it in as much detail as they’re able.
Pray thru Psalm 91
Have your child close their eyes and draw near (think about) God.
Tell your child you’re going to read Psalm 91 to them.
Ask them to picture where they are with God in these images from scripture.
God gives us imagery of him as a fortress, a strong tower, hiding under His wings so that we no only know it with our minds but we know Him with our hearts. He wants us to know in our hearts that we can truly take refuge with Him in these places.
After you read, ask if there was anything that stood out. Did they get a sense of where they were in the imagery?
Of where God was?
Ask them to describe any sense that they got of how God was protecting them (hiding behind His shield, protecting them like a wall).
Have them close their eyes and ask what God was protecting them from. Have them ask God if they can go to that place of protection with Him any time they’re scared. Have them thank God that He protects them in any kind of trouble and that He’s an ever present help when they’re scared.
When you did this with a large group of children at church, what happened? How did parents react?
When we’re reading thru these passages and asking God to draw near as He says He will, we’re trusting that God is bringing up images or impressions (truths) like on a projector screen in their minds. This is learning to listen to the Holy Spirit. This is that still, quiet voice.
God would ONLY bring to mind things that are TRUE, ENCOURAGING, UPLIFTING, so if their impressions are something other than that, …. What would you do?
It’s possible that doing prayer this way could bring up memories, beliefs or deeply protected wounds in your child’s (or your) heart that might surprise you (or them). God would not bring those things to mind if He couldn’t deal with them (heal them) there on the spot. If your child opens up about those things, you can help them find words to forgive, or ask for forgiveness;
Ask God to give them His truth. Wait for an image, impression, word, or truth. Don’t be afraid of a long pause.
Susanna Wesley had eleven children and still found time to pray.
You may never have heard of her, but you may have heard of two of her sons: John and Charles Wesley—two men who impacted millions of lives for Jesus. If we look at history, many of the great theologians and church leaders express thanks to their mothers for shaping them into the men they became. As the great preacher Charles Spurgeon said, “I am sure that, in my early youth, no teaching ever made such an impression upon my mind as the instruction of my mother.” These men, including John and Charles, owe much of their spiritual understanding and foundation to mothers who taught them God’s Word and prayed fervently and faithfully for their children.
“Pray when you feel like it. Pray when you don’t feel like it. Pray until you feel like it.” — H.B. Charles Jr.
If you’d like to sign up or are curious about what Freedom Prayer is all about, click here: Freedom Prayer