How can we help our children learn what it means to joyfully obey Jesus?
As we’ve wrestled with this question as a spiritual family in our simple churches, God has been drawing our attention to Acts 12. After Peter was imprisoned, the church responded by earnestly praying together. Even after God miraculously rescued Peter, he returned to find the believers still gathered in prayer. Their dependence on God wasn’t occasional—it was their way of life.
How can we become a people whose first response is prayer? How can each household become a place where prayer is the conduit for blessing for our homes and neighbors? And how can we invite our children into that life of obedience so they learn to follow Jesus alongside us?
We believe faith is best passed on by people who are actively following Jesus themselves. Disciples make disciples, and that means parents, grandparents, and the whole church family must be doers of God’s Word—not merely hearers. Our children will learn to follow Jesus not only by being taught the Scriptures but by more so by watching adults joyfully obey Jesus in everyday life. As we practice obedience before our children and invite them to join us, they begin to see and experience the gospel in word, deed, and power.
Because we want prayer to become a regular practice of obedience, we created a simple prayer tool for families. By combining two easy acronyms—J.O.Y. and B.L.E.S.S.—we designed a bookmark that helps children and adults pray together with confidence.
J.O.Y stands for “Jesus, Others, Yourself” and instructs us “how to pray”.
B.L.E.S.S stands for “Body, Labor, Emotional, Social, Spiritual” and instructs us “what we can pray for”.
Each B.L.E.S.S category can be used with each J.O.Y category. We’ve been modelling using simple phrases for our prayers. The following is an example of how to use this framework:
Jesus: “Jesus, thank you for providing for my family.”
Others: “Jesus, I bless my friend with your peace today.”
Yourself: “Jesus, help me to be kind and courageous.”
This summer we plan to use this framework during prayer walks throughout our neighbourhoods, inviting our children to join us as we pray for people who don’t yet know Jesus. Our hope isn’t simply to teach our children how to pray, but to help them experience what it looks like to obey Jesus together as a spiritual family.
Our prayer is that the next generation would inherit more than biblical knowledge—they would inherit a living faith shaped by communities that joyfully obey Jesus together. If a simple prayer tool like this could serve your church or small group, we’d love to share it with you and help your community grow in a lifestyle of prayer and obedience.
How to become a house of prayer – JOY and BLESS prayer guide
Allen Chang is a missionary with Novo Canada in Richmond BC. He leads a micro-church that is mainly made up of young families.
