Coach Mom Newsletter - Apr 2010

Organize a Family Prayer Time

Do you wish your family were closer? Do you feel that today’s society makes it difficult to keep the focus on God? Do you want to know about your children’s deepest concerns? Do you want to see God’s hand at work in situations and people that are dear to you? Do you want to make an eternal difference?

Organize a family prayer time. I know ... you may be thinking, Whoa, there. Not so fast.

· I wouldn’t know how to do it.

· I haven't been called to the ministry or trained in these things.

· I’ve never even prayed aloud.

Now, don’t get all stressed out about this or feel guilty if you’ve never done it. We recently implemented a regular family prayer time in our home, and you can, too. It's worth it! We have been blessed in more ways than we can count.

Here’s the scoop on family prayer time:

Who? All your family, gathered in one spot.

What? To pray together for 5 minutes.

When? At a time that works best for your family to gather on a consistent basis.

Where? A specific location in your home.

How? There is no right or wrong way to do it. Just bow your heads and talk to God like you would talk to a friend*.

Why? It will probably be the most power-packed 5 minutes of your week.

Tips:

· The end of the day, start of the day, or mealtime  are often good times to adopt for family prayer time, as they are less likely to be interrupted.

· Allow one person to share a request, and let another family member volunteer to say a 1-2 sentence prayer for that request. Repeat until all have shared.

· Decide how often you would like to meet, and put it on the calendar.

Additional Ideas:

· Read a Bible verse on prayer before sharing requests and praying.

· Let each family member also share a highlight from their day before their prayer request.

· Let family members write their requests on cards and put them in a basket. Then everyone draw out a request to pray for, or ease into it by one person praying for all the requests.

· Someone might volunteer to keep a journal of the requests in order to keep track, and thank God for answered prayer.

Be ready to pray about anything. My nine-year-old has the cutest requests of the family. Last week he asked that we pray for the census. The week before that he requested we pray for recycling. And we did...together with a smile.

*Note: For more on starting a personal relationship with Christ, please see www.brennastull.com and click on the link labeled “The Good News.”

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"All that I am or hope to be I owe to my angel mother. I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life."
- Abraham Lincoln

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