Family prayer is transformative. Is your family in a prayer rut? While there are many creative ways to spice up family prayer, the best thing you can do is pray Scripture.
Praying Scripture
Here’s something you can do together at the kitchen table. Open your Bible to one of the Psalms. Invite family members to read successive verses. As each verse is read, the reader should pause, engage their sanctified imagination and pray the verse back to God. Then the next verse is read by another family member, prayer follows, and so on.
Every parent and child should pray Scripture. Praying Scripture is using God’s Word directly to inform and form the content of prayer. It’s praying the Scriptures word for word, praying the Scriptures word for word along with reflection on the words, or praying the themes of a Scripture passage in a manner that sticks close to the text.
How to Pray Scripture
Here’s an example from Psalm 23:1-2.
Scripture – “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.”
Prayer – Lord, thank you for being my Shepherd. Thank you for taking care of everything. Because you’re my Shepherd, I know that I’m safe and you look after me. Please watch over my life and the lives of my family members …
Scripture – “He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters …”
Prayer – Lord, thank you for giving me opportunities to rest. Sometimes I’m too busy for my own good and too preoccupied to see your beauty around me. Help me be still and know that you are God. Please rejuvenate me today …
A Helpful Resource
Family prayer doesn’t have to be something that’s hard to do. The Family Prayer Calendar provides a daily Scripture and a prayer prompt to help you and your children pray anytime about everything.
