Creating Meaningful Moments: Starting a Family Prayer Time

Praying as a family can be an incredibly rewarding and meaningful experience. When we started praying together as a family, it was a little nerve-wracking, to be honest! My husband and I both thought our prayer life wasn't strong enough to pray in front of our kids, and especially each other. But you know what? We quickly discovered that gathering around each other for some quality prayer has become both an incredible bonding time for us and our favorite way to end the day!

We have always prayed with our kids before bed; however, it used to be more of a "learned" prayer. "Now I lay me, down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep..." Anyone else pray that with their kiddos? Don't get me wrong, that's a great first prayer to teach your kids to help them begin learning to talk to God. We still use it together with the littles, for them to begin learning to pray and feel like they are a part of prayer time too. As our oldest kids began to get older though, we knew we needed to dive deeper, and we have seen just how powerful that has been!

With some thought and preparation, your family can create a special time of prayer, too, that will bring your family closer together and prove to be rewarding beyond what you can imagine!

1. Four reasons why it is important to pray together as a family

2. Ways to incorporate prayer into your family life

3. Tips for creating a peaceful and fun setting

4. Suggestions for what to pray about

Four reasons why it is important to pray together as a family

Prayer is a powerful weapon; therefore, it should never take a backseat in our personal lives. Likewise, as a parent, praying with our kids should also be a priority.

1. Praying together teaches your kids what it means to pray.

As parents, we have the opportunity to teach our children what it means to rely on their faith in God. By praying together as a family, we are able to demonstrate how prayer can be used for many reasons – from thanking Him for His blessings, present and future, and asking for help when times get tough. In this way, prayer teaches kids they are never alone in facing life's challenges. They always have a faithful Father listening intently!

2. Praying together teaches your kids what it looks like to pray.

When prayer is new, it can feel awkward. Many adults struggle to have a strong prayer life of their own. So teaching kids what it looks like to pray can feel intimidating. However, prayer can simply look like a quiet place where we talk to our Heavenly Father. The world tends to make light of prayer, that it’s just a conversation and it can look like talking one minute and drooling on your pillow the next. It’s really meant to be a joke about falling asleep praying; however, we should be taking our open line of communication with our Lord more seriously. Although prayer is simply a conversation with our God, it’s important that we go to Him humbly. We are approaching the King, seated on the throne. That is an honor. Teaching them to close their eyes and take a moment to consider they are talking to the creator of the world, that brings a sense of awesome reverence! 

Prayer doesn't have to take place in one single way. Whether kneeling by the bedside or taking a walk while talking things over with God, prayer is an opportunity for us to set our hearts into reverence before Him. It can look like being cuddled up on the couch with tissues in your hand because it’s been a hard day or even a hard season. Whether praying before a meal, or the whole family piling on the bed to pray before bedtime; teaching kids how to pray means teaching them not only what praying looks like, but also showing them how they too can open their hearts up towards heaven.

3. Praying as a family invites God’s presence into your home.

In 2017, hardship tested our family; and we prayed our hearts out! I could just feel my children's prayers echoing throughout our home. Oh, the sweet sound of a child praying! I felt God’s mighty presence in such an undeniable way. It didn’t mean we didn’t have to endure that hard season for longer than we would have liked; but it was a comfort in the pain, and a reminder that when we call on the Lord, He is always present!

4. Praying as a family places God as a priority in your home.

If you ask your kids what kind of things are most important to you, would they say your relationship with God? Do they see it as a priority for your life and your family? Our lives can often be consumed with a seemingly never-ending stream of engagements, events and plans. While these commitments are surely important, if we want to truly honor God in our home and leave an eternal legacy for future generations, putting Him first is essential! Praying as a family signals that He should come before any other obligations on our calendar - no matter how pressing they may seem now. 

Doing this not only allows us to stay focused on what matters most, but it brings honor to God and leaves lasting footprints of faith that impact the kingdom long after us.

Ways to Incorporate Prayer into your family life

Prayer plays an essential role in spiritual growth – both for yourself and your family. Take the time each day to carve out moments of prayer, from beginning a car ride with quiet reflection or dedicating bedtime to talking with God. Prioritizing this intentional connection is well worth it - even if it means waking up 15-30 minutes earlier! After all, God calls us to pray to him; and when we fail to set aside these times of prayer, our disobedience could impact us and hinder His blessing on our lives and homes.

Personally, I pray in the mornings before I wake everyone up for the day. Before my husband leaves for work, we say a quick prayer together as well. Are there days this doesn’t happen? Of course! But because of how important it is, when I miss it, it remains on my mind all day. In those cases, I try to find a different time to spend in prayer, whether I’m driving to pick up kids, or right before I go to sleep. 

Sometimes my morning prayer is interrupted by a sweet little boy who somehow always knows when I get up. I just smile and tell him that I am praying, and he cuddles on my lap on the couch and lays there quietly until I am finished. Why? Because he has learned through our daily prayers, that when we pray, we are talking to God and everyone else is quiet. I personally love those cuddling and praying moments.

Tips for Creating a peaceful and fun setting

1. Create a routine

Establishing a peaceful and fun prayer time starts with having a routine. Kids function and thrive with routine because they know what to expect. We pray before bed each night. The kids are used to that, and will automatically jump on our bed after their evening routines, and get ready to pray. It's a perfect way to end an evening; and if the day was long and crazy, the prayer can be short and sweet, while still keeping the routine. 

2. Avoid distractions

It's hard to completely eliminate distractions. I mean, the second dad sits on the bed, there's at least one kid crawling on top of him, and they love to jump on the bed. Kids will be kids, right?! Yet, there are still ways to create a calmer setting. For example, not allowing toys or music going. That allows everyone to just focus on being together. We often tickle, joke around, or just visit for a few minutes before we quiet down to pray. This gets some energy out, and then we often calm things down by reading a book, devotional, memorizing scripture, or things of that nature before praying. 

 Another way to avoid distractions is to have a plan. If your kids are anything like mine, they squabble over who gets to sit beside mom. So be prepared to solve simple problems like that. For us, everyone has a specific night that they can sit by mom. The next night is their night by dad. When they sit by me, that's their night to pray, if they want to. Sometimes just a kid will pray, sometimes a kid followed by mom or dad, and sometimes just mom or dad. It depends on the night and what everyone wants to do. If the little's are still up, they sometimes like to say the "Now I lay me" prayer, and we will do that. My shy daughter will sometimes just pray and other times, she will read a prayer out of a prayer book. On of our littles likes to pray on his own once in a while. It's short and sweet, and so fun to hear the things he decides to thank God for! It's not about perfection. It's just about being together, making everyone feel comfortable, and creating that routine of praying to our Lord together.

Suggestions for what to pray about

• The best way to start a prayer is to honor and thank God for who He is (Father, Lord, Emmanuel, King of Kings. Lord of Lords, etc.) Telling God who He is in prayer is to remind you of who He is. Something about His name brings such reverence to begin your prayer.
• Thank God for all the blessings He has given, for his mercy and grace in your life. (It’s fun to hear the things kids thank God for: mom, dad, siblings, water, food, home, friends, safety, health, and sometimes just real random things)
• Family
• Relationship with siblings
• Friends
• Specific prayer requests
• Kids who need families
• Our Nation
• Our Leaders
• Your church
• Your church leaders
• Forgiveness for your sins (Can be done in private prayer with God)
• That God would give opportunities to serve Him financially, in the community, however He wills
• Spiritual Growth
• Courage to stand for what it right
• Selflessness
• The fruits of the spirit in their life
• They will be the salt and light and others will see Jesus in them
• Hope in all seasons
• Joy in all situations
• Future spouses
• Pray that God will put people in your life to share the gospel with
• Wisdom and Discernment
• God’s will to be done in our lives
• Confidence in who God created you to be and not in what others think of you
• Personal requests
• Pray scripture 
• (If you're praying alone, sitting there in quietness is both hard, but a perfect opportunity to position your heart to hear from God and to just be in His presence.)

Creating meaningful moments with your family through prayer can be very rewarding. With a little bit of preparation, you can make it a special time that will bring your family closer together and enhance your relationship with God. You can also grab this Prayer and Bible Study Journal above, and use it to keep yourself accountable in your own journey of spiritual growth; and also use it with the kids to keep prayer request and more! So why not start today? Set aside some time for prayer and see what amazing things can happen!

Let me know in the comments below how it goes with your family as ya'll begin prayer time together. If you use the prayer planner, be sure to take a picture and tag me on Instagram or Facebook! I cannot wait to see what God will do through your personal prayer time with Him as well as your family prayer time!