Category: Articles-Creative-Family-Prayer-Times (Page 8 of 11)

Excerpts from the book, Creative Family Prayer Times, by Amy Nappa and Mike Nappa

Creative Prayer: Seed Spittin’ Prayer

/ Amy Nappa

Focus: Including God in Summer fun

Before You Begin:

Use this prayer adventure during the hot summer months when everyone wants to be outdoors. You’ll need a watermelon, a knife, and sidewalk chalk.

The Prayer Time!

Draw a large “tic-tac-toe” board on your driveway or other cement surface. In four of the nine squares write the following words:

Thanks
Praise
Forgive
Help

Explain to your family members the meaning of each word.

“Thanks” is simply thanking God for something he has done.
“Praise” is telling God something good about himself, such as “God you are powerful!”
“Forgive” means to ask God to forgive you for something you’ve done wrong.
“Help” is to ask God for help in some area of your life.

Then have your family members choose other words that can direct a prayer to fill in the remaining five squares. You may want to write the names of family members, friends, teachers, church staff and so on. Or you may choose other words like, vacation, sunshine, the Bible, and so on.

When each square has a word written in it, cut the watermelon and give each person a large slice. Have everyone stand or sit nearby the chalked tic-tac-toe board.

Say, “Spit your seeds onto this tic-tac-toe board. Wherever your seed lands, pray as the words direct. For example, if your seed lands on Praise, tell God something great about himself. If it lands on a person’s name, thank God for that person or pray for God to help that person.”

Let this be a summer-fun time of spitting seeds and praying one-sentence prayers aloud. Keep the prayers and seeds going as long as the watermelon lasts! Then get out the hose and wash the seeds and chalk away.

Looking for More?

Find Amy Nappa on Amazon.com

Check out a few of Amy’s YouTube videos

Discover more about Amy’s memoir, Hard Way Home

Creative Prayer: Pantomime Prayer

/ Amy Nappa

Focus: Communicating to God through actions

Before You Begin:

No prep required this time!

The Prayer Time!

When your family gathers to pray, have each person think of one prayer or praise they would like to express to God. Then say:

“Think of a way to pantomime, or act out without using words, your thoughts to God. For example, if you want to apologize to God for doing the wrong thing, you might kneel and cover your face with your hands. If you want to thank God for being at work in your life, you might stand and applaud.”

Give everyone a moment of “think-time.” Then your family can proceed in its prayer time in one of these ways:

Everyone can pantomime his or her thoughts to God at the same time. In this way, each person is concerned only with his or her own prayer. Or,
One family member can begin by sharing his or her prayer and how it can be expressed. Then the entire family can pantomime the prayer of this person, corporately praying without words. Next, another family member can share and again pantomime your prayers as directed by this person.

When this time of prayer is over, say, “We need to remember that our lives and actions are prayers to God just as much as are words are. Let’s be people who pray with our lives this week.”

Finally, brainstorm with your family one unique way to express thanks to God in pantomime. Close your time of creative prayer by offering thanks together using this physical expression.

Looking for More?

Find Amy Nappa on Amazon.com

Check out a few of Amy’s YouTube videos

Discover more about Amy’s memoir, Hard Way Home

Creative Prayer: Penny Prayers

/ Amy Nappa

Focus: The small miracles of life

Before You Begin:

You’ll need a small jar and a handful of pennies for each member of your family.

The Prayer Time!

When your family gathers for creative prayer time, say: “Many times we fail to notice what God is doing around us. We might forget to thank God for an answered prayer, or may simply not pay attention to the small miracles of safety, life and beauty around us. This prayer adventure serves as a way to be sure God gets all the ‘credit.’”

Place an empty jar where it can be easily seen in your home. Then give each family member a handful of pennies. Say, “Each time you see God’s hand at work in answer to a prayer, put a penny in this jar.” Explain that a penny could be placed in the jar when:

A prayer is answered.
You see a change in a person or situation and know God is working to make that change.
You are kept safe in a dangerous situation.
Your attitude is one of joy even in a difficult time or situation.

Have family members think of other examples of God being at work when a penny might be put into the jar. Then briefly pray, asking God to help family members be aware of God’s hand throughout the week.

After a week, gather again to see how many pennies have been placed in the jar. Count the pennies, then have each person tell about one or two times he or she put a coin into the jar. Spend a few minutes thanking God for the riches of answered prayer and for reminding your family that God is always at work!

Return the jar to its spot for the upcoming week. After the jar has a good amount of pennies in it, allow your children to choose a way to use the coins to purchase a gift for someone. For example, kids might want to buy one or two flowers for a neighbor, or a can of food for a local soup kitchen.

Looking for More?

Find Amy Nappa on Amazon.com

Check out a few of Amy’s YouTube videos

Discover more about Amy’s memoir, Hard Way Home

Creative Prayer: Sunrise Watch

/ Amy Nappa

Focus: A quiet time of thanks at sunrise

Before You Begin:

This prayer adventure may be the most difficult one in this entire book–it requires getting up before the sunrise!

If you can entice your whole family out of bed (do we smell bacon sizzling?) before the crack of dawn, include everyone in this time of prayer. Or you may want to use it on a special occasion when two family members are up early for a fishing expedition or when a parent is still up after soothing a sick child through the night.

If all else fails, you could use this idea during a sunset instead.

The Prayer Time!

Here’s what to do:

Find a place where you can see the sunrise clearly. If the view from your windows isn’t good, try a park, scenic overlook, or even your roof (if you’re careful). Then settle down to watch the first rays of dawn peak through the dark.

Each time the sunrise reveals a new color in the sky, thank God for something beautiful.

For example, as pink glows in the sky, thank God for the smile of a friend.
As the sky turns orange, thank God for the sweet friendship of family members.
As yellow shines through, thank God for the beauty of a favorite flower.

Continue in your time of thanks until the sun is shining brightly. Then head to breakfast with a smile of thanksgiving on your face!

Note: Because looking directly into the sun can damage vision, be sure to caution children to look at the sky around the sun—not directly at the sun itself.

Looking for More?

Find Amy Nappa on Amazon.com

Check out a few of Amy’s YouTube videos

Discover more about Amy’s memoir, Hard Way Home

Creative Prayer: Prayer Toss

/ Amy Nappa

Focus: Prayer for family members

Before You Begin:

Use this creative prayer idea when your family is gathered for a time of prayer together. You’ll need a sheet of paper and pencil for each person.

The Prayer Time!

Have each family member write his or her name and a request for prayer on his or her paper. (Ask older children to help younger ones who are non-readers.) Be sure to emphasize that the prayer requests can be for anything this family member feels is important.

When everyone is ready, stand in a circle and say, “For this creative prayer, do this: Crumple your paper and toss it up in the air so it falls into the center of our circle.”

Wait to see where each paper wad lands. Then have family members pick up the paper nearest to where they are standing. Say, “Pray for the person whose paper you picked up.”

If you like, spend time with each person silently praying over the request they have read, then re-crumple the papers and repeat the activity and time of prayer. Let everyone know it’s okay to pray for the same person twice, or even to pray for your own request.

After doing this several times, have each person save the paper they picked up on the last toss and use it as a reminder to pray for the appropriate family member over the next week.