Week of Prayer - Some thoughts on family prayer...

Take this week as an opportunity to gather your family together for the purpose of praying. Though not always possible for various reasons, we encourage husbands and fathers to lead this time. It is wonderful to for your families what it means to pray and how important prayer is. Below are some suggested activities. Use these as a guide and adapt them as needed given the ages of your kids, etc. It is our hope that as a church body we can encourage and help each other in our spiritual growth, so if you have other ideas please share them with each other. 

"Teach us to pray"

The disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. We all can learn more about prayer. Have each person in the family write down (or say aloud) what they think prayer is, what it includes, how it is done, etc. The goal is to simply hear each person's thoughts. Then, read Luke 11:1-4. What aspects in your family's comments can be seen in Jesus' prayer? What are some things Jesus included that were missing in your comments? Read this passage out loud together and ask Jesus to continue to teach you how to pray. Try to find specific aspects of prayer that each family member can work on learning more deeply.

Don't shy away from bringing up the difficulties anyone has with prayer. It may be that you don't ever feel like praying, or that you're embarrassed, or that it's hard to trust that God will hear you. No one has it down perfectly. Remember that the disciples asked for Jesus' help and we should too. See Romans 8:26 for an encouraging word about how God helps us pray.

 

Pray continually

Take time as a family to involve prayer in the daily activities of life. Use the following ideas or make some of your own to help you reflect on God throughout the day and throughout your home.

Go to each family member's bed and pray for God's rest (Ps 62:1, Ps 91:1, Mt 11:28-30).

Go to the sink or bathtub and thank God for his cleansing (Jn 13:8, Acts 22:16, 1Cor 6:11, Titus 3:5).

Go to a dresser or closet and thank God for being clothed with Christ's righteousness (Gal 3:27). Ask God to clothe you with his qualities (Col 3:12).

In the kitchen or dining room ask God to give you a hunger and thirst for his righteousness (Matt 5:6).

Go to your where you keep exercise or sporting equipment. Thank God for physical activity but take time to reflect on the greater value of pursuing God (1 Tim 4:8).

Gather as a family and sing a favorite song in praise to God (Eph 5:19)

 

Every meal is thanksgiving

Before you pray for an evening meal think through the details of what happened to get the food on your table. Someone planted it, harvested it, cleaned it, brought it to a store, and prepared it to eat. This list may include people from all over the world or just people in your own family. You can pray for these people and thank God for how they contributed to his care for you. Then, talk together and identify the people God has used to build into your spiritual life. Pray for these people and pray for how you can build into other's spiritual lives too.