What If Your Kids Don't Know What to Pray? Simple Ways to Help Them Talk to God

Your child bows their head, everyone gets quiet, and then you hear, “I don’t know what to say.”

You may have expected prayer to come naturally. After all, they’ve heard you pray, they’ve prayed at church, and maybe your family prays before meals or at bedtime. But knowing that prayer is important and knowing how to actually talk to God can be two different things.

Children don’t need impressive prayers. They need to learn that they can talk to God about what’s actually happening in their lives. That includes the big things, but it also includes the things adults might consider small: a difficult day at school, a friend who hurt their feelings, a test they’re nervous about, something they’re thankful for, or a decision they don’t know how to make.

Teaching children to pray starts by helping them understand that God wants to hear from them.

Prayer Can Sound Like Real Life

Sometimes children think prayer has to sound a certain way. They may believe they need the right words, a particular posture, or a long list of requests before their prayer “counts.” If they’re unsure what to say, they may simply repeat what they’ve heard someone else pray.

You can help change that by making prayer sound like everyday conversation. Your child can tell God, “I’m scared about tomorrow.” They can say, “God, thank you for my friend.” They can pray, “I don’t know what to do.” They can even say, “God, I’m really angry right now.”

Prayer doesn’t require your child to clean up their emotions before bringing them to God. The Psalms are full of honest prayers about fear, sadness, anger, confusion, gratitude, and hope. Your children can learn that they don’t have to pretend with God.

Start With What They Already Care About

If your child doesn’t know what to pray about, start with their world. Ask, “What happened today that you’d like to talk to God about?”

Maybe they’ll mention a difficult teacher. Maybe they’ll talk about a friend. Maybe they’ll tell you about something funny that happened at lunch. All of those things can become part of Christian family prayer.

You can also ask simple questions such as, “What are you thankful for today?” “Is there anything you’re worried about?” “Is there someone you want God to help?” “Is there something you need wisdom about?” or “Did anything happen today that made you feel really happy or really sad?”

These questions give children somewhere to start. Over time, they’ll begin recognizing the things in their everyday lives that they can bring to God without needing you to prompt them.

Teach Them to Pray About Their Worries

Children carry more worries than parents sometimes realize. A child may be nervous about making friends, performing in a game, getting a bad grade, sleeping alone, or dealing with a conflict at school. A teenager may be worried about relationships, the future, expectations, or whether they’ll fit in.

Instead of immediately trying to make the worry disappear, you can help your child bring it to God.

“God, I’m worried about my test tomorrow. Please help me remember what I studied and give me peace.”

“God, I don’t know how to handle what happened with my friend. Please give me wisdom about what to say.”

“God, I’m scared about this decision. Please help me know what’s right.”

These prayers don’t promise that everything will turn out exactly the way your child wants. They teach something more important: they don’t have to carry their worries alone.

Philippians 4:6-7 encourages believers to bring their requests to God through prayer and thanksgiving. That’s a truth children can practice long before they fully understand it.

Help Them Pray About Other People

Prayer can also move children beyond themselves. Ask your child, “Who needs prayer today?”

Maybe they’ll name a sick grandparent, a friend who’s having a hard time, a teacher, or someone they saw struggling at school. You can help them turn that concern into a simple prayer: “God, please help Grandma feel better.” “Please help my friend because she’s having a hard week.” “Thank you for my teacher. Please give her strength today.”

These prayers teach children to notice other people and care about what they’re experiencing. Prayer becomes more than asking God for things. It becomes a way of loving people when your child may not be able to fix their situation themselves.

Let Gratitude Be Simple

Gratitude doesn’t have to be complicated either. At dinner, ask everyone to name one thing they’re thankful for. Before bed, ask your child what was good about their day. On a family walk, encourage them to notice something beautiful and thank God for it.

Your child might pray, “Thank you for the rain,” or “Thank you that Dad came home early,” or “Thank you for my birthday.” Those simple prayers help children develop an awareness of God’s goodness in ordinary life.

Family faith grows through these small, repeated moments.

Don’t Correct Every Prayer

One of the easiest ways to make prayer uncomfortable for children is to constantly correct how they pray. If your child says something theologically incomplete, you may be tempted to immediately fix it. If their prayer is silly, you may want to redirect them. If they ask God for something you think is unrealistic, you may feel the need to explain why.

There’s a time for teaching, but not every prayer needs to become a lesson.

Listen.

Let your child discover that prayer is a safe place to talk to God. As they grow, you can help them understand Scripture, God’s character, and what it means to pray according to His will. But first, give them the freedom to practice talking with Him. You might learn something about your child in the process.

Give Them a Few Simple Prompts

If your child regularly says, “I don’t know what to pray,” keep a few prompts nearby. You could write them on a card by their bed or use them around the dinner table:

1. Thank you: “God, thank you for…”

2. Help me: “God, I need help with…”

3. Help them: “God, please help…”

4. Forgive me: “God, I’m sorry for…”

5. Give me wisdom: “God, help me know what to do about…”

6. I’m feeling: “God, today I feel…”

These prompts aren’t a formula. They’re simply a starting point. Eventually, your child may not need them at all.

The goal isn’t to teach your kids to sound like adults when they pray. It’s to help them understand that God is available in every part of their lives.

So the next time your child says, “I don’t know what to pray,” don’t rush in and pray for them. Ask, “What’s on your mind?” Then give them time to answer.

Their prayer may be short, awkward, or very different from the prayers they hear at church. That’s okay. They’re learning to talk to God, and that conversation can begin with something as simple as, “God, this is what happened today.”

© Engage Family Ministries | Helping families grow closer to God and each other