Night Night Prayers

I never really thought much about how to teach a child to pray or needing to tell them more than oh, just talk to God, that's all prayer is and I never thought much about night night prayers being anything more than the now I lay me.....Lord bless so and so and so and so till one day when #s 1+2 were little and I realized they really didn't understand how to pray or what prayer really was and I wasn't sure they really got the point of prayer. Then I thought you know how can they see that prayer works, that prayer changes things, that God really does hear their prayers if their prayers have no substance, if they are always the same empty words?? What about the scripture Matthew 6:7 "But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they thing that they shall be heard for their much speaking." All this really bothered me so I started praying about it and God spoke a plan to me and I brought it all before Glenn and he liked the idea and so our night night prayers forever changed! We now gather as a family and start with Glenn as he is the head of the house (except the occassional night that he decides to let the youngest go first and we pray backwards) and he prays out loud whatever he feels led to pray about, whatever he needs to speak to God about (pg of course! afterall there are little ones present!), never the same rote words, always from his heart. then we follow by age oldest to youngest in the same fashion, speaking all of us one by one from our hearts. It really has been a wonderful thing and amazing thing to watch, such a blessing to see their prayer lives developing, their faith being built up. I know it sounds so simple but it really is one of the most amazing times we have as a family. When we first started Kirsten and Chris didn't know what to say, I know they mainly just listened but over time I could see them gain confidence and really start to open up to our heavenly Father, and we have got to see their prayers answered. I will never forget Kirsten's ending prayers after my miscarraige when I got pregnant again with Keegan, "and please don't let this baby die in mommy's tummy" through the WHOLE pregnancy! and God did protect and Keegan is here with us! and the almost nightly prayer, "and help us have good dreams, no bad dreams" and I watch it get answered bc it is on the nights that that part is forgot that there are sometimes bad dreams but not (that I remember) on the nights it is prayed. Since this is the only way Cayden remembers night night prayers, we have watched him go from baby coos during everyone's prayers to holding his hands together while we say a simple prayer for him to repeating the simple prayer after us to adding his own words as he repeats the prayer, to saying and adding all on his own to now saying his own prayers from his heart. On nights when for some reason (life happens) we haven't done our family prayers he will come out of his room, "we didn't pray!" and he won't go to bed till we do! and now Keegan has started repeating his prayer and even saying parts of it all on his own. It is sooo sweet to see. and Chris, he still will name everyone by name, thanking God for his family and asking for sicknesses to be healed. It is such a blessing, memories that I will always cherish!