Nonreligious Prayer Question

Well, if it's "praying" then it's religious because prayer is talking to God.

If you are non-religious then you wouldn't be praying really. Here is one that I said as a child that is religious, but more of a thank-you prayer.

Thank you for the food we eat,
Thank you for the world so sweet,
Thank you for the birds that sing,
Thank you God, for everything.

Who would she be praying to? I'm not sure how you could have a non-religious prayer, as prayer itself is appealing to God. Is it futile to pray to nothing? But, at the same time, I don't see myself as "religious" as much as I see myself in a relationship with God. I talk to Him from the heart, not in a form of recitation. A memorized prayer is a religious act, of sorts. It isn't relational. Just like if you talk to a friend, and only say memorized things, that would be kind of weird. But, you talk from the heart, because you have a relationship. I hope that makes sense. You can teach her to talk to God, thanking Him for her blessings, asking Him for her needs/desires, just whatever she thinks of. Your example is the best teacher for her. Blessings!

I agree with Dawn, the Now I lay me prayer came to mind with me. However, I grew up saying it the same way but I didn't like the If I should die before I wake part. I always felt like I was going to die in my sleep and it made me not want to fall asleep! :O
When I had my first daughter, she received a lamb as a gift that recited it a different way, which I like much better! :)

Now I lay me down to sleep
I pray the Lord my soul to keep
Angels watch me through the night
Until I wake in morning light
Amen

As a parent, if you would like your child to know God, please teach her or learn about Him with her. I bet she'd love to know Him :)

How do you define prayer?
A prayer is a conversation with God.

If you agree with that definition, then I would recommend the "Now I lay me down to sleep" prayer that was mentioned below, as well as a reflection of things she is thankful for, and people she loves and wants to be taken care of, etc.

We are not religious in our household, and so we have Happy Thoughts at night, rather than prayer. This is when the kids think and talk about things that made them smile that day. It's a way to be thankful for all of the large and small things that happen in our lives, and to reflect on ways we can be better members of our family and our community. Even very young children have an easy time with Happy Thoughts. We have been doing this since our kids were about 3 years old.

As a child, I never found the "now I lay me down to sleep" prayer comforting! It always left me wondering if I was going to die!

I didn't do a memorized prayer with my daughter. We had what she called "the goodnight thing." After tucking her in, each of us would tell one nice thing we had done for someone else that day, one nice thing someone else had done for us, and one thing we were looking forward to the next day.

Every night, we go around the room and say a prayer about someone we know, someone we don't know, and also say something we're thankful for.

So tonight, I prayed that Daddy would have a good doctor visit tomorrow. I prayed for a homeless man I saw on the side of the road today. And I was thankful for the awesome cleaning day and cleaning job I had today.

My prayers when I was little usually started with:
Dear Lord, How are you? Fine I hope. Me? I am good. I want to thank you for momma and Jack and for all the people that I love and that love me. Thank You for the food on our table and the roof over our heads. Please help all the little children in the world not be hungry or cold. If they are hungry they can have my spinach. And please let my friend Lavonne get to spend the night this weekend. Now as you can probally tell part of this prayer was my mother and part me. She asked me... Why do you ask the Lord how he is ... I remember telling her that he listens to everyone's problems but how often does someone ask him how he is? She never corrected me on that point. She did allow me to feel comfortable talking to God and asking for things that were important to me. Never material objects mind you, but she would let me request friend outings, time with others and she would let me ask for material things for those in need. I will always be grateful to her for teaching me prayer. I am not an organized religion person per say. I am comfortable talking to God. Thanks to Momma.

have her recite the things she is grateful for, ask for blessings in things she finds challenge in (being polite, minding her manners, etc.). Not to be ignorant or rude, just to learn a new perspective, to whom or what will she be praying? that may help her decide what to say as well.

In our home we do "Gratefuls". I was raised with church (al be it mellow) and my husband was not. So it's perfect for us. We each take a turn and say what we are grateful for at the dinner table. If someone mentions us ("I'm grateful for my Mommy") we say thank you right away. We are able to subtly model gratitude and focus on non-material things (I might say something like, "I'm grateful for this wonderful rain today which helped Mother Nature to cleanse our earth"). The other thing we do at bedtime is have a mantra which we repeat together holding hands--ours is "Be strong. Be safe. Be smart. Be happy. Be honest. Be healthy." It came about when our first was a newborn and my husband and I were talking about our wish for her in her future and what traits we wanted to instill in her. Now we sometimes say each one and then tell each other what it means to us which of course can change day to day. Example, "Be strong to me means to eat lots of fresh fruits and veggie so that my body had good fuel to give me energy and help me grow tall so I can ride the rides at the fair". It's so cute to hear what it means to them.

Not sure what a "nonreligious" prayer is, but this is the one I was taught as a child.

Father we thank you for the night,
And for the pleasant morning light,
Help us to do the things we should,
Be to others kind and good.
Amen.

My Grandma used to say a poem at bedtime that went like this:

Goodnight, sleep tight,
wake up bright, in the morning light,
to do what's right, with all your might,
Goodnight.

Ours is from the book "Good Night God"

Good Night God, Sweet dreams to you. Tomorrow there's so much to do, but now it's time to sleep and dream of rocket ships and fairy queens. So thank you God for all you do and don't forget that I love you. Good night God."

When I was growing up we did the Now I lay me down to sleep - prayer and it really did scare me because I didn't want to die in my sleep!! :)

Our kids learned a sweet prayer in preschool that they would sing before lunch. It is to the tune of Frere Jacques.

God our Father
God our Father
We thank you.
We thank you.
For our many blessings.
For our many blessings.
Amen.(pronounced AH-ah-men)
Amen.

The twins still sing it at bedtime occasionally when it is late and we need to get to sleep. I usually have them tell me a blessing/something they are thankful for before we sing it together.

Edited: I just read your question again and was thinking this song may be too religious. I am not sure why you would introduce praying to your daughter unless you teach her why we pray and who we pray to. I think you need to decide for yourself what you believe. I believe in God, my Father in heaven and teach our children about Him. If someday they question what they believe and why, then they can seek out the answers. I think it is great that you want to pray with your daughter. I just think you need to find the answers for your own life so that when your daughter begins to have questions, you can teach her what you believe. That day is coming very soon.
Please don't read anything more to my statements than what is here. I don't mean to preach or judge and I'm sorry if it came across that way.
Many blessings

We do "happy thoughts and prayers" each night. The happy thoughts are good things that happened throughout the day and the prayer goes like this, " Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, and when I wake to start my day, I pray the Lord to guide my way" Amen

How about the one most children learn when they are little (if their parents teach them prayers?)

Now I lay me down to sleep.
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
If I should die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take.

Ahhh-men.

Kids like the sing-song and rhyming. It is comforting to them.

Dawn

My DD understands "thank you" so we thank God for the things we did or the people in our lives or the things we have. We also ask God to help with things if appropriate, but mostly it's "thank yous". She is also 3.

I'm curious how you are going to address your Creator. You need someone to pray TO and I'm not aware of any prayers that don't address God in some way.

I am raising my DD Christian because I am and because I believe a child needs a foundation, even if she doesn't stay with it. My sks are not Christian. I was raised and we raised them to be respectful of religions and to experience different faiths to help them find their path. Perhaps the Unitarians would appeal to you.

Remember, there is a difference between organized religion and belief. Good luck in your search.

The only one I used when my kids were little was the "now I lay me down to sleep" one, but I guess that would fall under religious since it's speaking to the Lord.
I dont know any non religious prayers... I'll be interested to see what the others say.
You could google "prayers to mother earth" or something like that....that is if you are looking for something that doesnt speak of God in the prayer.

I come from a non-religious household and was in a panic when I was asked to say grace at a friend's house. My mom taught me to say "Thank you for the food we are about to receive" as a pre-meal grace.
As for night time prayers focusing on gratitude is the best thing to do at the end of the day, religious or not. The people you are grateful for, the good things that happened that day, the blessings in your life all can be reflected on. Then maybe closing with something like "today was a good day, looking forward to tomorrow"

When I was a kid, oh man, being raised Catholic I had to recite some Hail Marys and Our Fathers before bed... sheesh.

My kids now make up their own. They've been doing it since preK (sent them to a christian based, Lutheran preK)... so they had a general idea of what to pray about. Even something as simple as 'Thank you God for the pretty weather and give me strength on my test tomorrow', my kids make up their own little prayers.

Super cute idea, even if you're not religious! We're like you, not religious, but keeping the option open for the kiddos :)

When my daughter was around 3, we would go through all the names in our family; "Mommy loves you, Daddy loves you, ..." We'd go through all the aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents. Then we started thinking we're molding her into a little 3 year old narcissist, so we changed it. Now it's "You love Mommy, you love Daddy, you love Grandma ..." It reminded her of all the people around her that she is grateful for.

O God, guide me, protect me, make of me a shining lamp and a brilliant star. Thou art the Mighty and the Powerful.

This is a prayer from the Bahai Faith.

I see that others have asked the question I was wondering regarding your statement that you are not a religious household, and yet you want to have prayer. I'm assuming that what you mean by not religious is that, though you believe in God you aren't involved with any organized religious group.
My suggestion is that you look for a child's book of prayers that you can share with your daughter. She can use those prayers as a starter to her own prayers, but then introduce her to adding her own prayers for those things and people in her life that are important to her. Don't be surprised if the prayers include any pets you may own, or other animals she knows about, and don't discourage prayer for those or other things that may seem to you that they aren't worthy of God's time. My Bible teaches me that God is interested in even the hairs on our heads, so I don't believe there is anything a child (or an adult for that matter) can pray about that will not be of interest to Him. You might also consider purchasing a child's first Bible ... the kind that has some stories from the Bible ... for her. That would give her a better basis for why she is praying.

I usually remind my kids to thank God. I love the things they list. They start with family and by the end it's thank you for hotwheels and thank you for making school lunch be chicken nuggets today.
In reading these, I have to say I am writing down Cheerful Ms and Julie Hs. They are both great and so sweet. And Suzie Q - I do that same thing. I wish I may, I wish I might! ;)

A relationship with God is wonderful, or a relationship with "someting" greater than yourself is wonderful. It is helpful that your childeren learn that when there is no one around, that there is ALWAYS someone you can talk to. This could save lives later on in life, so it's valuable to teach them the power of prayer! So don't be so hooked or attached to what you think religion is! SO: my husband doesn't see the value in teaching religion, so I created the value! I told him that I'm going to buy some pre-K prayer books and stories because they will help support us on the values we want to teach our children. He bought it instantly....and the children 2 and 5 now, love them! They love the idea of God, and understand that when people die, they get to go live with him....and perhaps a train ride is included on the way to heaven! Before dinner....and it's random, it's when they think of it they say the below prayer:

Thank you for the food we eat,
Thank you for the world so sweet,
Thank you for the birds that sing,
Thank you God, for everything.
Amen!

But bed time, (their choice) we read age appropriate bible stories or prayers.

I'm all about incorporatiang values into their lives and not restricitng it to a set time. I don't want it to become another thing I have to check-off my to do list at the end of the night. It has to be a natural thing so that they create the value for themselves.

PS: I grew up with "religion" which wasn't fun, but at my darkest moment, in a 3rd world country expereincing the most tragic thing in my life at 34, in a country where no one spoke English, I had no one, and reachout out to God in prayer in desperation......it worked! Things began to take a change in course and I was baffled, blown away, amazed and filled with much gratitude and love for our Father.

S.

You might begin with something like Mother Earth, Father Time, God and the Universe, Thank you for the abundance in our lives, thank you for giving us another day on earth, help me to be a better person tomorrow. Amen

Anything to this affect that suits you. You can also be thankful for specific things that happened and ask specific requests.

Additionally, if you are so inclined, you might add the names of other dieties to acknowledge other beliefs.

If you are non-religious, you might try a Unitarian Universalist church--they are non-dogmatic, but ascribe to a set of 7 prinicpals believing that we don't know what happens after we die, so let's do our best while we are here on earth in this lifetime. The website for the church I attend is www.mysfuu.org.