Praying For Your Children by Towns and Earley

I got this book, Praying for your Children, after it was temporarily listed for free on Amazon.  I'm a member of a Facebook group that shares Christian e-books (both fiction and non-fiction) when they are under a dollar, or free.

As someone who does not have the prayer life that I feel I should have (though it is getting better, especially the smaller, impromptu prayers, just relying on God throughout the day) I thought this would be a good book to help me to help my children to pray.

With my girls, I have always said a set prayer with them at bedtime from when they were little:

God, Our Father, I've come to say

Thank you for your love today.

Thank you for my family

And all the friends you give to me.

Guard me in the dark of night

And in the morning, send your light.  Amen.

DD1 now considers herself an atheist, so doesn't want me praying with her any more.

DD2, otoh, is happy for me to pray this prayer with her, and we have started adding our own prayers at the end of it.  Though she often wants me to say the prayers on her behalf, I'm trying to encourage her to talk to God directly.

The blurb for this book says:

Filled with easy-to-follow advice and biblically sound suggestions, Praying for Your Children gives parents and those who love children the tools to make an eternal difference in their lives.

Authors Dr. Elmer Towns and Dr. Dave Earley share how and what to pray to bring your children closer to God. Defined are the roles and responsibilities of parents in raising children who learn to rely on God for their strength and power to be victorious in any situation.

Stressing the importance of starting early, actual prayers are shared that children can memorize. Biblical parents and their prayers are also highlighted, providing excellent examples of how praying for children pleases God to answer.

You don't have to be a great spiritual prayer warrior for God to answer your prayers for your children. The secret is God. You donÕt get great answers because youÕre more spiritual than others, or because youÕve prayed longer or better. The secret is God! The simplest prayer launched with the simplest faith can set the wheels of Heaven in motion.

Trust Him to do great things for your children.

Personally, I found some of the suggestions to be a bit formulaic (as in 'if you do this, then God will listen'), however, this book is still worth reading (especially if you can get it for free!) because there is lots of encouragement within.  Dispersed throughout the text are lots of small prayers for you to say, asking God to help you praying for your children, and at the end, there are some set-prayers that you can use too.  When I was growing up, my mum said a prayer with my sister and I before bed, and I can barely remember it now, though I recognise it when I see/hear it. And it was in this book, so that made me smile, too (though it listed two different endings, and I can't remember which it was my mum used to say, but think it was the first one).

Now I lay me down to sleep,

I pray the Lord my soul to keep:

May God guard me through the night

And wake me with the morning light.  Amen

or

Now I lay me down to sleep,

I pray the Lord my soul to keep.

If I should die before I wake,

I pray the Lord my soul to take. Amen.