She pulls him close with one arm around him and begins to pray.

"Father, you are very wonderful. You made the sun, the moon and all the stars. You are very good and you love us…" She continues on with a short but passionate prayer and then asks her 5-year-old to pray as she listens. Not surprisingly, he begins, "God, you are very wonderful. You made the sun, the moon, and all the stars." He mirrors his mother's awe in his own words.

So the bedtime routine continues. Night after night, year after year, parents transfer their knowledge of God to their child through bedtime prayers. It is not the only method they use to teach their children about God, but it is a very effective one.

The routine is simple. The end result is profound. A young mind begins to grasp that there is an invisible Being known and highly valued by Mom and Dad in a family relationship framework—they call Him Father. This Being is the Creator of the sun, moon, stars and all the wonderful things we see in our world.

Another night, the bedtime prayer includes, "Thank you, God, for sending us the rain today so our garden will grow." An impressionable mind takes in the belief that this great invisible Being provides the rain so food can grow. Later in life, he will come to rely on this great God who is not only the Creator but the Sustainer.

Bedtime prayers are an excellent tool with which to teach doctrine. Brevity is important. One small truth at a time is sufficient. Repetition is essential. Prayers should differ night by night but come back to basic truths again and again.

And one more powerful secret is this. When you cuddle close to your child in prayer, you create in him a sense of security, love and relationship that he will come to associate with God, his heavenly Father.