I love Christmas and the hustle and bustle of the season.  December is always full of parties, shopping, and cooking; however, it's easy to get off-track with routine and your normal parenting business amidst they busyness.

One of the best things you can do for your normal parenting routine is to include prayer.  Purposeful prayer influences your parenting in amazing ways.  We all send up the help balloon: "Jesus, I need you now!" and God provides wisdom in the moment.  Obviously, that is definitely a part of being a praying parent!  However, the focus of this article is how to put focused prayer into your routine.  Paul instructs us in Philippians 4:6, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." How do we do that with our kids? There are so many requests!  We have so much to pray for and there is so little time.  (Isn't time always the killer). Anyway, here are some practical ways I've applied that verse to my life with three young children.

At the table and before bed.

Add an extra bit to your mealtime and bedtime prayers.  Go beyond, "Bless this food," to "Thank you God for Your love.  Thank you that we can talk to you.  God, help us to honor you with our words." Or ask Him to help you be kind, to give you wisdom, to show you how to love one another better, or whatever God has laid on your heart at that time. It doesn't need to be fancy; just present your requests in front of your kids.  Share your heart.  You are teaching your kids how to pray.

In the car.

We have a prayer place on the way to school. As we enter the parking garage, I pray aloud for the kids to have a good day, to learn more about God's world, and to show God's love to others.  It becomes habit.  My two year old asks me to start praying as soon as the wheels hit the pavement of the school drive!  Your kids hear your heart for them and they feel protected and loved as they leave you for a few hours.

At the sink.

I'm assuming here that you log as many hours at the kitchen sink as I do.  I'm convinced women have been praying by the sink for centuries!  I have a list of prayer requests for the kids that are numbered 1-27.  I'm not original - they are the chapters from Stormie Omarians's book "The Power of a Praying Parent" and they cover everything from their salvation to good hygiene (all the mothers of boys are saying amen!) As I'm at the sink, I just thank God and ask Him for whatever is written on that day in the book.  The last few days of the month, I ask God for whatever is the pressing issue of the moment.

These are just some little ways to add prayer into your day.  Make them your own, and ask God to show you how to pray for your kids.  There are so many opportunities to be anxious for our children; thankfully, the next part of Paul's command is a promise: "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus," Philippians 4:7. May God grant you all peace this Christmas season and in the coming new year!

~ Jenn Whitmer lives and laughs with her husband, two sons, and daughter in St. Louis, Missouri.  Send email to Jennifer at jenniferwhitmer@gmail.com with any thoughts or questions.