Sami has always prayed before going to sleep. Suddenly a few months ago she started saying it was too hard and she couldn't pray at night. (I still hear her pray aloud at all other times of day :roll So then one day I taught her: now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my Soul to keep, Angels watch me through the night, Until I wake in the morning light. Amen She found another one in one of ther books: Thank you God for the Sun Thank You God for the Trees Thank You God for the mountians Thank you God for making me. Amen. Now she is begging me to teach her more memorized prayers.. but I don't know any! I know the other "Now I lay me down to sleep" but I didn't want her to think about dying right before bed.. Anybody know some good ones?
God is great, God is good Let us thank Him for our food. By His hand we all are fed Give us now our daily bread. Amen
Thank You, God, for things to eat, For things to do and see; But most of all, For those who take good care of me!
My son wanted to learn the Lord's Prayer when he was 6because he said Max, our former pastor, said it. He is mentally handicapped but has a great memory so he learned it in less than a week. Beth
I considered teaching her the Lord's Prayer but I thought it might be too hard right now. She surprises me alot so maybe I'll try it and see.
Syele, I think you will enjoy teaching your daughter the Lord's Prayer and when she can say the whole thing and understand it, you will be so proud. We were shocked that Bill picked it up so fast, but he didn't understand all the words for a while. He does now. He is pretty smart about some things and other things are just too hard for him to get. He used to call the Lord's Prayer, The one about the Trespasses. My favorite prayer to memorize came from a tv show. I don't remember the show but the prayer goes like this. For the blessings you have bestowed on this home and this family, For all the days we've had together and all the days to come, For the joys and sorrows that bind us ever closer, For the trials we have overcome, and for teaching us we can do no great things, only small things with great love, We thank You. Too hard for a little one, I just love it a lot. Beth
Tonight I started teaching her the Lord's Prayer, She understood more than I thought she would.. she explained the parts about trespasses and daily bread to me when I asked if she knew what it ment. that one youmentioned sounds familiar, like I've heard it before, but can't place where.
I grew up with this at dinner: Thank you, O Lord, for these, Thy gifts, which we are about to receive from Thy bounty through Christ our Lord. Amen.
This is in the Bible, I believe, but I can't remember where. After family worship and prayer (with my family when I was growing up), we would end the worship by all of us repeating this together: Let the words of my mouth, and the meditations of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, oh Lord my strength and my Redeemer.
Psalms 19:14, Deena! It's on our "Blue Scripture Songbook" (original title, huh?) that we used in the church I attended before getting married. I still keep a copy in my dulcimer case!
Beth, I like the prayer/poem you shared. I copied it for myself! Jacki & Deena, Ps 19:14 was the verse I chose at my baptism--always a prayer of mine! Here are the words to a song I used to sing to my babies. (The last verse mentions death, however; so you could leave that out for Sami.) Jesus, Tender Shepherd, hear me; Bless Thy little lamb tonight: Through the darkness be Thou near me, Keep me safe till morning light. Through this day Thy hand has led me, And I thank Thee for Thy care; Thou has clothed me, warmed and fed me, Listen to my evening prayer. Let my sins be all forgiven; Bless the friends I love so well; Take me, when I die, to heaven, Happy there with Thee to dwell. Mary L. Duncan 1839
I remembered to ask my daughter about which tv program it was from and she said a Thanksgiving episode of Sisters. I have used it at church before by substituting church, for home and church family, for family and a lot of people said they liked it too. I think I like it because it is so simple. Beth
I'm trying to get our family out of the organized memorized prayer thing, but I think I am losing the battle. These are ones we use: Dinner time: Come Lord Jesus be our guest, let these gifts to us to blessed. Amen Bedtime: Dear Jesus, God bless our family and friends, keep us healthy and safe, forgive us for our sins, Amen! Lately Tanner has been adding personal additions at the end which I find great. His last prayer ended with "help Grandma find a new job please", which I thought was so nice of him.:love:
I think one of the best ways is to be very careful not to say the same thing ourselves again and again. I know I caught myself doing this at meals, and then I wondered why the kids did it (DUH!!!). So started making a very pointed effort to NOT repeat myself AT ALL when it came to meals. My kids are FINALLY saying different things! (THough Rachael's caught on some time ago!)