We hate to admit it, but…
… sometimes we get bored by prayer.
Don’t get us wrong, prayer is one of the most powerful forces God has granted us on this earth. And it’s certainly not God’s fault if our minds wander during prayer. There should be nothing more appealing than spending intimate, personal time with God in prayer.
Problem is, we still are sometimes bored by prayer. And we’ll bet that, on occasion, you and your family get bored, too.
It happens all too often, whether you’re praying alone or with others. Your head is bowed and you’re ready to pray. Perhaps someone else is even praying aloud.
Then. . .
You lose your train of thought. You think about work. You think about the last song you heard on the radio. You think about the dog barking in the back yard, whether or not the mail will come early or late, why they don’t make Underoos for adults, whether or not you returned your library book in time to avoid a fine, if you’ll be able to get in a few good spikes during the next volleyball game, and on and on. You’ve forgotten God is listening as you make a mental list of things you must do in the next few hours, days, or weeks.
We know, because we’ve been there.
We find ourselves saying, “Well, we have to go pray,” instead of “Wow! we get to go pray!” And this attitude has carried over into our times of family prayer. We quickly ramble through our requests as if reading a shopping list. Our time of thanks before a meal is a race to see if the prayer can be finished before someone starts to eat anyway.
But, instead of assuming that boredom during prayer must be endured, we decided to do something about it. The results were first a book, then this blog of creative prayer—and (hopefully) an answer to prayer for your family.
“Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!”
Psalm 119:169 (NLT)
So What’s In This Blog Anyway?
In Creative Family Prayer Times you’ll find a collection of innovative ideas to help you and your family focus your prayers and add meaning to the words you say. These ideas aren’t meant to replace what you already do in prayers, but to bring a change of pace in a hands-on, involving way to your existing prayer lives.
Since we can talk to God at any time and at any place, we’ve included a wide variety of prayer adventures in this book! There are adventures to be shared at dinner, prayer times to experience just before bedtime, creative prayer for a Saturday morning, and out-of-the-box prayers that involve an outing for your family. Some of these adventures can be done alone, while others include the whole gang. We’ve also included a number of prayer adventures that correspond to holidays or special days.
As you read through the ideas in this book, you’ll find some ideas involve daily participation, while others involve projects that last for a week, a month or even a year. Remember, you don’t have to use these ideas all at once! Perhaps your family will choose one ongoing prayer adventure that lasts a month. During this time you might want to include one or two “one-time” prayer adventures. And if your family really enjoys a specific adventure, use it again. Pick and choose the ideas that will work best for your family, or modify others to your liking.
We want prayer to be an exciting part of our everyday lives, and we’re hoping this blog will make prayer an exciting part of your family life as well. Ready?
Then click here for your first prayer adventure…
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
