Are we raising children to pray?

Every night when we sit down to eat, there is the big dilemma of who's time it is to say the blessing. Now, our teenagers get quite angry if we forget who said it last. They want it to be fair, equal. I grew up hearing prayers. We never ate a meal without saying one. You may think overkill. I knew about all types of prayers. I was no stranger to praying, but....it took having children and feeling overwhelmed by my life situation to fully understand the beauty of a devoted prayer life. I remember many nights feeling so helpless, the only thing I knew to do was to go to God and let Him have it all. I learned to hold nothing back and hold nothing in. I learned release and gratitude in all things. One night in particular, I remember laying beside our precious children and listening to their heart's desires and concerns. It occurred to me, the crisis we were going through as a family, was developing my children's prayers, way beyond the "now I lay me down to sleep." We learned to pray through anything and everything. Our daughter was asked to pray before their cheerleading try-outs this past year, I am glad she could. Our son always announces on Sunday, at our dinner, "I already prayed at Sunday School, it's your turn dad." I think it matters. I think it is important to pray as a family. I believe that young people need to learn to pray about all things in their life. Tonight, as we determined it was our son's time to pray, he mentioned a thank-you to God for surviving football and protecting his sister while she cheered. When he finished, our daughter announced her cheering wasn't over, he had forgotten basketball season, so she wasn't completely safe, yet. Amazing. I'm glad God keeps up with every season and cares.