Many times as parents we have the best intention to train our children in prayer, but we can become distracted, forgetful, and lose sight of our assignment. However, it's never too late to make the necessary adjustments. We want to provide a practical and effective first step that will help us experience the blessing of becoming a house of prayer.
Repentance: It all starts with us as parents recognizing that we have made mistakes. For too long it has been believed that parents should not ask their children for forgiveness, but that idea could not be further from the truth. It is biblical, and it is necessary. Asking for forgiveness not just something we should teach our children, but we should also model it through our example. In 2 Chronicles 7:14 it says, “Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land” (NLT). This verse says, “if my people…will humble theselves…” “My people” refers to us! To humble oneself is to adopt an attitude of humility in a situation or before a person; it is to recognize that we have been wrong that we have sinned.
Practical Next Steps:
1. Begin by repenting before our Heavenly Father.
2. If you can, continue in repentance with your spouse. Someone must take the initiative. We encourage you to have a humble and receptive attitude; we generally offend those we love most; that's why it's important to take this step together.
3. Finally, invite your children into the process of repentance. You can take each one separately and have some time to ask them specifically how you may have wounded them, and you can also repent of prayerlessness.