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Praying with Kids: Confession

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Confession:  The act of admitting that you have done something wrong

Confession is a hard topic for most of us.  We all know that we aren’t perfect.  We make mistakes not just every day, but sometimes it seems like every few minutes.  When it comes to naming those mistakes, that is a different story.  No one wants to make a list of all the things they have done wrong.  We especially don’t want to list our faults in front of others.  When we follow the Bible, confession is something we have to learn.   

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If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 ESV

ACTS: Confession

In our prayer acronym, ACTs, we have adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication.  Today we will focus on how we teach our kids to confess when they pray.  Unless you have just caught them in the act, my kids sit and look around the room, waiting for a mistake to pop into their heads.  Sometimes I stand ready with a few things they have done during the day that I can’t get off my mind.  But since my goal is to be like God and forget and forgive the sins of my children as far as the east is from the west, I don’t want to do this unless there is a heart issue that still needs to be been dealt with.  

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

   so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;

12 as far as the east is from the west,

   so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:11-12 ESV

We All Mess Up, So Model Confession

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23

That’s right, folks.  Even mommys and daddys mess up.  Kids need to know this.  Sometimes we have mixed feelings about confessing to our kids because we want to be the good example. We all know our kids follow us.  It’s because they follow us that we need to practice the act of confession.  If our kids see us confessing and truly repenting for our sins, then they will eventually learn to do the same.

If our kids see us confess and repent, then they will learn to do the same. Click To Tweet

It can be as simple as, “I’m sorry.   Mommy shouldn’t have ______________.  God doesn’t like it when I do that.  (And if applicable…) I know you don’t like it when I do that either.  I am sorry I hurt you.”

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”  James 5:16 ESV

Practice Corporate Confession with Prayer Cards

Since we all mess up, we can all confess together.  One way to do this is read our confessions together.  Younger children who aren’t yet reading can repeat confessions sentence by sentence.  There are certain things we do every day, so those are the ones we can focus on honestly.  
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I have provided a set of confession cards.  At the end of each day, choose one to read or repeat together.   Once kids get the hang of it, it will eventually get easier for them to add in their own personal confessions as well.  Either before or after you read the confessions, have a minute of silence so kids can confess to God, even if they aren’t ready to spill the beans in front of parents and siblings. (And to be honest, most of us moms and dads still don’t want to tell our parents and siblings everything!)

Do you confess to your children when you mess up?  How do you teach your kids to confess?

Make sure to check out our other days of Teaching Kids to Pray: ACTS.

ACTS

Adoration

Confession 

Thanksgiving 

Supplication   

Filed Under: Devotionals, Prayer, Printables Tagged With: Family Bible Study, Prayer, Printables

Comments

  1. Heather Lawrence says

    September 23, 2016 at 1:30 pm

    Excellent post, I know for myself this is one area where I struggle with. Especially the dark and ugly stuff that even I don’t want to admit to myself let alone anyone else.
    Great reminder to get it out in the open so God can clean it up and we can move on with our lives.

    Reply
  2. Amy Hagerup says

    September 23, 2016 at 6:00 pm

    So true. What we model is what our children will learn. My husband and I try to model this to our Children’s Church’s 4 & 5 year old kids when we teach them. Thanks so much.
    Amy Hagerup recently posted…Lessons from a GPS: Effective Problem SolvingMy Profile

    Reply
  3. Rachel -a la modest says

    September 23, 2016 at 11:06 pm

    It’s so easy to be prideful when you’re the parent, or even just being older (as a sibling). This post is a great reminder to humble ourselves.

    Reply
  4. Andrea says

    September 24, 2016 at 5:42 am

    SO important that we teach kids how to pray!
    Andrea recently posted…What Has God Done For You This Week? Share Your Praises With Me!My Profile

    Reply
  5. No Ordinary Liz says

    September 24, 2016 at 1:01 pm

    I absolutely love this! You post/feelings is something that needs to be shared daily and everywhere. We need to send the message. We want to teach our kids to mimic what parents do so that when they’re ready to go out into this world, they are no longer shielded!

    Reply
    • admin says

      September 26, 2016 at 11:02 pm

      Thanks for such a sweet compliment! We do need to prepare our kids for the world so they can go out and change it for the better.

      Reply
  6. Kay says

    September 24, 2016 at 3:18 pm

    This is a really neat thing to read. I see a lot of posts about prayer, but not very many people post about confession!
    Kay recently posted…What Is Unacceptable?My Profile

    Reply
  7. Lisa Rios says

    September 25, 2016 at 8:57 am

    Such a beautiful post. I very much agree that we all tend to mess up things and it is good to confess together with your kids. I would love to print that Confession Cards to make the best use of it.

    Reply
  8. Kristi says

    September 26, 2016 at 3:02 am

    I love this idea, Tara! Using the confession cards to help kids and even us adults remember that we need to bring confession into our prayers, is such a wonderful thing. Confessing draws us closer to Christ and that is what we who want a relationship with Him are striving for. Totally printing these off.
    Kristi recently posted…Young at Heart – Age is just a NumberMy Profile

    Reply
  9. DE Bolton says

    September 26, 2016 at 5:57 am

    I really like this post and it’s a great reminder that we are setting the example for our children. I believe confession is important in our trust and commitment to Christmas and easier said than done but worth the results of our honesty every time?

    Reply

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Hello! I'm Tara. My kids and I spend a lot of time in our van (and elsewhere) singing, playing , and praying. Join us as we navigate through the winding roads of life, enjoy the journey, and arrive at a place where we love Jesus with all our hearts. Read More
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