How to Pray

One day some mothers brought their babies to him to touch and bless. But the disciples told them to go away.

Then Jesus called the children over to him and said to the disciples, "Let the little children come to me! Never send them away! For the Kingdom of God belongs to men who have hearts as trusting as these little children's. And anyone who doesn't have their kind of faith will never get within the Kingdom's gates." Luke 18: 15-17 (TLB)

Teach a child to choose the right path, and when he is older he will remain upon it. Proverbs 22:6 (TLB)

Navamani Peter is from Karnataka, India. The six-year-old daughter of a church member once asked Navamani three questions: Who taught you how to pray? Who teaches pastors how to pray? Can you teach me how to pray? Navamani decided to teach her the two prayers her parents taught her when she was a child.

Her parents thought it was important that her siblings and Navamani learn two prayers that would become models for them to use even in their adult years - a prayer of gratitude before meals and the Lord's Prayer. Navamani memorized these prayers as a child without fully understanding them. But as she grew older, the Lord's Prayer became a lifeline for her.

When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, he taught them a model prayer that also provided them with guidance for how to live. And although Jesus taught the disciples the Lord's Prayer 2000 years ago, it is still part of faithful practice in homes and churches around the world today. Navamani has passed these model prayers on to her children and grandchildren, and she is sure they will pass them to the next generations.

Prayer: Loving God, thank you for children. Help us to nurture them with your word so that they may feel your presence in their life, in Jesus' name. Amen.