I suppose all children are afraid of monsters (of some kind) or afraid of the dark at some point in their childhood. And while well-meaning psychologists have sometimes made too much of this phenomenon, such fears are no doubt tied to a child’s feelings of smallness and helplessness in a big, big world.

It seems almost universal that people, children included, are afraid of the unknown. We fear the things that may lurk in the dark, because we cannot see them or understand them. They may be watching us or even stalking us and we are oblivious to the danger until it is too late. What if something is hiding under the bed or in the shadows of my closet, and I don’t know it? When I fall asleep, it might come out and grab me or even devour me.

Prayer is a great way to help any child overcome their fear of the unknown. For that matter, it is a great way for adults to also overcome the same basic fear. What if the house catches fire, or somebody breaks in, or what if a wind come along and blows us all away?

We need to understand that God is greater than anything we may fear. And if he is our Keeper, then we know we can get through any situation that might ever develop. We can overcome the fears and the actual dangers themselves, if we are trusting in God.

As a teenager, I had overcome my fears of the dark. I was already on my own at the age of 15, and I often hitchhiked around the United States. I was not a real Christian believer, even though I had joined a local church.

One thing I did before each trip: I prayed. Before I left Houston, I would pray and commit everything into God’s hands. I committed my own life and health into His care, since hitchhiking is a very risky business. I would commit my poems and writings into God’s care, leaving them at my mother’s house. And that was about it, since that was all I owned in the world. Then I would set out.

I always returned home again safe and in good health. My few writings were also safe whenever I returned for them. A small thing, I know. But in such experiences, I learned that I could trust God, just as Jesus teaches us that we can.

We should teach our children to pray real prayers, from the heart, and to voice all their concerns to God each day, and each night. Our Lord will hear every genuine cry from the heart, and he will not fail to undertake for every child that trusts in Him. Not only will He protect them from the monsters that may (or may not) be imagined, He will also teach them the power of faith in God.

Pray with your children. Teach them to carry their concerns to God. Let them know when God answers your prayers, and the prayers of the family. Talk about the prayers and the answers to prayers often, reminding your children of every prayer God has answered.

I suppose we will always have something to fear. At least until we take it to God. Perfect love, the Bible says, casts out all fear. In the Presence of the Lord there is peace and comfort. The shortest way to God’s Presence on earth is meaningful prayer.

Pray daily and teach your little ones to pray. God will do His part.

Jim