FRESH START PRAYER GUIDE
Is my child ready to ask Jesus to be Lord of their life?
Use the following 5 questions to help you determine if your child is ready to ask Jesus to be the Lord of their life. The main goal is to determine if your child recognizes that their own sin separates them from God and that Jesus’ death on the cross makes them right with God. You will also find some things to say if your child doesn’t seem to be grasping these spiritual concepts. Read the suggested verses as tools to help you.
Who is Jesus? Look up Matthew 3:16-17.
This is an easy question to answer and will get your child comfortable with answering questions. Their answer will be pretty simple – “He is God’s Son.”
What is sin? Then ask: Have you ever sinned? Look up Romans 3:23.
Younger kids may not understand the word sin. In Roads Kidz, we teach that sin is lying, cheating, stealing, angry outbursts, doing bad things, saying bad things, thinking bad things, etc. Talk about these things with your child recognizing that all of us sin. Feel free to help by talking about things that you may do wrong and how they get in the way of your friendship with God. Ultimately, you’re looking for your child to identify specific things they do wrong.
What did Jesus do on the cross? Why did He have to die? Look up 1 Corinthians 15:3-4.
Again, these should be simple responses – “Jesus died on the cross,” or “Jesus died for our sins,” or “So we could be forgiven.”
NOTE: If you don’t feel that your child understands either what sin is or that Jesus died to take our sins away, then simply table the discussion. You might say something like, “I’d like us to keep talking about this more over the next few weeks/months.”
What happens to our sin when we ask Jesus to forgive us and we say or confess our sins out loud? Look up 1 John 1:9.
Most responses will be very simple – “Jesus takes away our sins.”
Do you want to ask Jesus to be the Lord of your life?
If yes, then great! This is the best part. Here is a prayer you may use. Have your child repeat each line after you.
“Dear Jesus, I admit that I am a sinner. I believe that you are God’s Son and that you died on the cross for my sin, to save me. Thank you for dying on the cross. I believe that you rose from the dead to give me new life. I want you to be the leader and the Lord of my life. Be my Savior. Help me to live my life for you. Thank you for loving me and thank you for saving me. Amen!”
Congratulations!
You’ve just led your child into a relationship with Jesus. There are few experiences as valuable as this! The next steps are very important. Encourage your child to read their Bible regularly and be baptized.