Book Club: A Review of Helping Your Children Become Prayer Warriors

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The words of children's prayers are often simple and easily memorized but why can't we teach our children to pray more than traditional ones? In Anne Marie Gosnell's newest book – Helping Your Children Become Prayer Warriors – readers are taught "tips and ideas that will help you build your own prayer life as you teach your children how to pray" (7). 

Clicking through the links helps keep the coffee pot filled. 

My family has been enjoying reading Helping Your Children Become Prayer Warriors by Anne Marie Gosnell. Each section of the book discusses how to teach children how to pray in a specific way and there are scripture cards that connect to each section, to help you and your children pray the scriptures. Gosnell states that "praying the scriptures helps us to memorize that scripture" (8). Personally, I think this is a fantastic way to introduce scripture memorization to children and something I am looking forward to working on with our own children. 

The topics of teaching kids to pray that are addressed in Helping Your Children Become Prayer Warriors include the following:

• Praying to the Father 
• Praying for Forgiveness
• Praying about Big Things
• Praying for the Desire to Obey
• Praying about World Events 
• Praying Prayers of Thanksgiving
• Praying Aloud and Through Singing

I like how each section is set up in the same manner as one reads through the different topics of teaching kids to pray. This pattern makes it very easy to read. I found it didn't take me long to read the book but – like most books with a lot to say – multiple readings continue to bring new understandings and insight. 

One of the many scriptures that your family can prayer together.

I found the book to be written in such a way that it allows me to decide how to work through the teachings with our children. I could spend a day to weeks on each topic depending on our own individual needs. I could have the children memorize scripture, complete the suggested activities, or pray with our children. For example, in Teaching Kids to Pray for the Desire to Obey, Gosnell suggests that we can discuss the story of the prodigal son and read about Samuel and answer questions provided. To help our children prepare to pray, we can ask our children to write in a prayer journal the scriptures that they are having a hard time obeying. Through this exercise, our children can ask the Lord for help in obedience.

In our family, we started working on being more thankful. In Teaching Kids to Pray Prayers of Thanksgiving, an activity is suggested to set up a blessings jar. Our family has started this activity. Each evening after dinner, we write down one thing we are thankful for and put it into our own family blessings jar. After 30 days, we will read all our notes so we can share our blessings with one another. 

There are so many useful tips and ideas included for parents – not just in reference to praying but to parenting in general. These include teaching children how to be gracious with a win or a loss or how to help a child voice concern (or fear) to the Lord due to world events.

Included in Helping Your Children Become Prayer Warriors are over 40 pages of Scripture Cards for you and your family. These can be used for prayers, scripture memorization, or even copy work. 

I recommend this book to families of children who are seeking to raise their children with a Christian upbringing. It will help those who wish to teach their children how to become Prayer Warriors. 

You can learn more about Anne Marie Gosnell and her other books and resources at her website: 

Future Flying Saucers and Prayer Warrior Book or watching the following video: