Why Prayer is an Important Family Component to Introduce to Your Children and Family
Regardless of the religion you practice it is important to introduce family prayer as a regular component of your family structure. It is easy to reinforce every day. By doing this it helps emphasize the lessons you learned during your Sunday services and it also helps bring your family closer together in a spiritual and loving way.
Practicing prayer at home helps your children understand that prayer is simply a conversation with God. Here are a few ideas that can help you get the practice of prayer started in your home.
1) Newspaper Prayer. Have each family member take a portion of the newspaper and circle items that he or she feels need to be prayed for. Then ask family members to pray for the things they circled in the paper.
2) Sentence Prayer. You can help your children pray aloud by giving them a sentence to complete, such as:
“Lord, I thank you for …”
“Lord, forgive me for …”
“Lord, help my friend …”
“Lord, help me be more …”
“Lord, help me to let go of …”
“Lord, give me the courage to …”
Lord, one of the fears I need help with is …”
3) Highs and Lows. Ask your children what their “highs” were from the day, and then ask them about their “lows”. Share your highs and lows as well, and then pray for them together.
4) Prayer Journal. Share your prayer requests with the other members of your family and then record them in a prayer journal. One person can pray for all the requests you’ve listed for the day. The next time you pray together, look over the requests you listed previously and update any changes and answers.
5) A.C.T.S. Prayer. This is a well-known form of prayer that is easy to remember:
A stands for “adoration.” Begin the prayer by simply adoring God for who He is.
C stands for “confession.” Spend some time confessing your sins.
T stands for “thanksgiving.” Take time to thank God for the blessings that He has given to you and your family.
S stands for “supplication.” Lift up specific areas of your life in which you need God to supply
©EthLeen
