"Daddy, Can You Teach Me How To Pray?"

Has your child ever asked a similar question?

Sometimes it's hard to know how to answer this question as a parent, because when we look back, it appears that good prayer comes from time and experience; things our children don't have much of. How can we encourage our kids to expand their prayer language beyond "Now I lay me down to sleep..." and "God bless Daddy and Mommy..."?

In The Barber Who Wanted to Pray R.C. Sproul's imaginative and beautifully illustrated children's story, the fictional father Mr. McFarland responds to his daughter's similar question, as many teachers do, by sharing a story.

Mr. McFarland tells the 500-year-old story about Master Peter, a barber well-known to all in his village. One day, when Martin Luther the Reformer walks into his shop, the barber musters up the courage to ask the outlawed monk how to pray. Luther responds by writing a letter to the barber. The barber’s life and many others’ are changed as they encounter a model for prayer by using the Lord’s Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and the Apostles’ Creed.

Sproul’s story will delight children and help them learn to pray according to the Bible. The full text of the Lord’s Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and the Apostles’ Creed will make this a treasured book to be returned to time after time.


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