Engage in Family Prayer to Impact Lives

Grow closer as a family through prayer while helping your children to become prayer warriors and impact the world. Prayer is how we communicate with God and when we do it together we know God listens and helps us be united (Matthew 18:19-20). Talking with God stretches our hearts and minds. When we pray for others it opens us to love the people we pray for and helps us be more empathetic. Prayer builds our relationships with God and those with whom we pray.

Start with Family Prayer Stretches

Use movement to pray and look up scriptures to think about God and why we pray. Use all or a few of the following ideas when you gather to pray. This helps children understand the benefits of prayer.

• Take a deep breathe. Thank God for breathing life into you (Psalm 150:6).
• Reach up with your arms and face to praise God (1 Timothy 2:8).
• Bow down to honor God (Psalm 95:6).
• Stretch out and lift your arms to ask God to fill your needs (Lamentations 3:41).
• Hold your arms out wide to each side and ask God to bless others (Philippians 2:4).
• Lie down to show humility and do push-ups to ask for strength (genesis 10:3).
• Dance as David did to thank God for victory (2 Samuel 6:14).
• Jump to praise God for prayer answers (Acts 3:8).
• Walk in place and thank God for being with you (Joshua 1:9).
• Lift cans or bottles of water to strengthen muscles and ask God to strengthen your soul (Isaiah 41:10).

Let Prayer Foster Harmony

Show children how detergents can remove stains and help us be clean. Chat about how forgiveness cleans our hearts. When we forgive one another restore harmony, and feel happier and closer as a family.

Read Genesis 26:12-30 and discuss how Isaac wanted peace and what he did as he trusted God instead of fighting. He didn’t let any bullying upset him because he considered it a way for God to move him to the right place. We need to pray for the right attitude and for God to guide us, sometimes through circumstances. When people see how you live in harmony they will also see how your faith makes you a more united family.

Nurture Growth Through Prayer

Plant some vegetable seeds. Watch them sprout and grow as you water them and place them where they get plenty of sunshine. Chat about how we grow physically and mentally but also grow in faith. We nurture our spiritual growth as we pray, read the Bible, and share God’s responses. Talk about how God is with you and share moments you have been thankful for God’s presence and help

Keep a diary of the plant’s growth. Keep a prayer journal as a family and share how God has feed your soul and answered prayers. Discuss what food the plant will produce and chat about hunger. Look up facts about world hunger and choose to also pray for people around the world.

Rejoice when the plant blossoms and when God answers a prayer. Celebrate when the plant finally produces, and you can eat the food that grew. Thank God for providing plants that grow and give us food. Rejoice when God answers prayers and helps you grow in faith.

Engage in Global Prayer to Build God’s Family

Pray for people around the world. Discover what’s happening in world news to know who needs your prayers. Prayer helps us realize we belong together as a family and even as the family of God.

Enjoy concentric prayers that promotes praying for others. Start with a tight little circle and pray for one another in short, simple prayers. Ask God to help anyone with a problem and thank God for any blessings he has given your family or a family member. Step back a little to widen the circle. Pray for your neighborhood or church. Step back again and pray for your community or town. Keep steeping back to pray wider until you pray for the whole world. Pray for peace with each step back and for God to bring religious freedom as you step lout wide enough to pray for the world.

Understand That You Can Influence Others

Help you children create a sphere of influence map. Use a map that relates to where you have traveled and have family members and friends. This might be a small community map or a world map.

Draw a red dot for where you live. That represents where your heart is now. Draw brown dots for anywhere relatives live. That’s for people you love anywhere they live on earth. Add green dots for wherever friends live. That reflects hope to keep growing those friendships. Draw purple dots anywhere you have traveled. Travel broadens your mind and enriches your life. Purple represents royalty and wealth.

Then draw lines from the red dot to each of the other dots, in matching colors of the other dots. This shows where you have influence. You can talk to people you know in many of those places and pray for them.

Praying as a family helps children develop a lifelong relationship with God while growing together in faith. Prayer opens our hearts to God’s perspective and guidance. It gives us inner peace and helps us tap into the power of God. Be sure to pray together often.