How best to facilitate Prayer?

[Soonerborn]

I have a question for my wise brothers. I have 5 children (oldest is 8) and I have been convicted of a few things lately:

1) I don't pray enough by myself.
2) I don't pray enough with my children.
3) I don't pray enough with my wife.

So my practical question is - how is the best way to establish regular, recurring times of prayer with both your children and your wife? We do have nightly family worship where we do pray all together during that time-period; but I would like to spend time with each child cultivating a spirit and culture of prayer in their lives and I'm having a hard time doing this. Also, with your wives, any advice on how best to establish a regular, daily pattern of prayer? Do you have prayer lists? Do you pray for different things on different days?

Basically just seeking some help on this topic!

Thanks!

 

[Andres]

I think praying with children right before bedtime would be good.

 

[arapahoepark]

I suppose whatever works for you. What do you think the best time is in your schedule? Prayers before bed with all family members sounds like a good idea, a nice way to finish off the day.

 

[newcreature]

We say The Lord's Prayer together at night. It is comprehensive and biblical. We also pray at meals, I usually let my son lead this prayer. Also, my children have been cultivated to say a short prayer any time during the day. For instance, if one of them hears some bad news about a friend or family member, they can say a prayer (alone) right then and there.

 

[kappazei]

For myself; I keep a prayer journal. I record the dates (duh), scripture passage for the day. I ask the Lord to open my heart to it. Then I write down; What it says in context, what it says to me personally and an action plan as to how I may put it into practice. Then I begin praying, first for myself, my wife, the children etc., writing down impressions and names and issues as they come up. Offer the time in space to spend 30 min a day with the Lord. ...and I live with the following motto that I borrowed from some preacher.... Never ignore an impulse to pray and be on the lookout for where God is working.

I guarantee you. It will change your life and the life of your family.

 

[J. Dean]

Best advice-just pray. Find a time to pray, and pray. We have a family prayer after dinner, and also at bed. We discuss prayer requests as well as things to be thankful for and give praise to God.

BTW, just as a side note, I don't think any of us feel that we pray as much or as sincerely as we ought. Just be careful that it doesn't turn into a self-imposed burden (ie-praying for two hours, then not "feeling" spiritual after hearing about somebody else who prays for three hours). While time in prayer is important, it's more about WHAT we pray than how long we pray, like the pharisee and the tax collector.

 

[OPC'n]

That's six pp you would have to say prayers with and then by yourself. I can understand teaching your children how to pray, but I'm unsure why the extra time to pray with your wife and then individually with each child. Could you not just teach them how to pray? As they learn, then each person in your family could lead the prayer? I'm wondering how praying with them, especially your wife, would work on the part of asking for forgiveness of sins. I wouldn't want to pray with my husband or my children (I have neither) and have to recite the sins for which I'm asking forgiveness or do you have them do that part later when they are by themselves?

 

[py3ak]

My parents are missionaries, and were able to set a spacious schedule so that we were rarely in a hurry, and could always accommodate guests, emergencies, travel, etc. I honestly don't know that I ever recall family worship being interrupted, unless we were staying in someone else's home and they didn't have something and we couldn't gather separately. This is what they did.
When they woke up (at 5:00 am), after getting up, dressed, starting coffee, making the bed and so forth they would pray together. More than once guests have commented on waking up to hear my parents praying together in the living room - mostly positive comments!
They would then spend some time reading and praying separately, my mom usually in her laundry room and my dad at his desk. My dad had a little bit more time at that point because my mom would have to break off a bit early to prepare breakfast.
After breakfast (which happened at 7:00 sharp), we cleared the table, my dad read a portion of Scripture or a "Daily Light" selection, and we prayed all around the table, using a massive stack of missionary prayers cards and family pictures to remind us of people on our list. When I was little we worked on memorizing Ephesians 6 - I don't remember when memorization dropped out of the rotation, but after a while it was handled as part of home schooling instead.
After dinner (precisely at 1:30 PM), my dad usually spent some time in ministerial prayer in his room.
In the evening, my mom would gather the kids and read to us: we'd wind up by reading from Scripture, and then she'd go to our rooms separately and pray with us, often with a bit of conversation. My mom has many shining points (being consistent obviously among them), but if I had to pick the one thing she did that I think was best done, it was reading to all her kids together, and then going to bid them all good night individually with some personal attention and prayer - even though at one point that meant going up three flights of stairs, coming back down them, and then going up two flights of stairs. I'm sure that was more tiring when she was ready to go to sleep than we realized at the time.
Later on my parents started also reading extended portions of Scripture and praying together after supper (which happened at 7:00 PM sharp).
And of course we had prayer at the beginning of each meal and at the start of each school day.

 

[nicnap]

Here is a sermon that I listened to yesterday: Colossians 4:2-4 - SermonAudio.com . Though it does not speak to how best to facilitate prayer, it is an excellent sermon on the necessity of prayer. The audio is a bit choppy in places, but push through, it is worth it.

 

[JennyG]

My parents are missionaries, and were able to set a spacious schedule so that we were rarely in a hurry, and could always accommodate guests, emergencies, travel, etc. I honestly don't know that I ever recall family worship being interrupted, unless we were staying in someone else's home and they didn't have something and we couldn't gather separately. This is what they did.
When they woke up (at 5:00 am), after getting up, dressed, starting coffee, making the bed and so forth they would pray together. More than once guests have commented on waking up to hear my parents praying together in the living room - mostly positive comments!
They would then spend some time reading and praying separately, my mom usually in her laundry room and my dad at his desk. My dad had a little bit more time at that point because my mom would have to break off a bit early to prepare breakfast.
After breakfast (which happened at 7:00 sharp), we cleared the table, my dad read a portion of Scripture or a "Daily Light" selection, and we prayed all around the table, using a massive stack of missionary prayers cards and family pictures to remind us of people on our list. When I was little we worked on memorizing Ephesians 6 - I don't remember when memorization dropped out of the rotation, but after a while it was handled as part of home schooling instead.
After dinner (precisely at 1:30 PM), my dad usually spent some time in ministerial prayer in his room.
In the evening, my mom would gather the kids and read to us: we'd wind up by reading from Scripture, and then she'd go to our rooms separately and pray with us, often with a bit of conversation. My mom has many shining points (being consistent obviously among them), but if I had to pick the one thing she did that I think was best done, it was reading to all her kids together, and then going to bid them all good night individually with some personal attention and prayer - even though at one point that meant going up three flights of stairs, coming back down them, and then going up two flights of stairs. I'm sure that was more tiring when she was ready to go to sleep than we realized at the time.
Later on my parents started also reading extended portions of Scripture and praying together after supper (which happened at 7:00 PM sharp).
And of course we had prayer at the beginning of each meal and at the start of each school day.

What a wonderful routine, and it goes some way to explain how (by God's grace) you came to be the person you are, dear brother

 

[py3ak]

Jenny, although I realize my parents had certain advantages which not everyone could duplicate, it is certainly true that they held out an excellent example I fall far short of in the way that their days were bathed in prayer and Scripture, and those really formed the poles around which their simple and tranquil but productive routine largely turned. It is a blessing to see that though they are now in their 70s their appetite for reading God's word and spending time in prayer has increased rather than decreased.