How to Pray Together as a Family: A Must for Every Home

Praying together as a family is something that families have done for centuries. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 27:17 “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” This means that when families pray together they are able to be strengthened by the Lord and also strengthen each other. Families can grow closer through prayer, which is why it’s important to make prayer a priority.

We are in a time where family prayer is an afterthought or something that doesn’t occur outside of the dinner table. This needs to change! When families pray together they are able to draw closer to God and also support one another. Praying with your family can have many benefits, including building a strong spiritual foundation for children in the home. The enemy would love nothing more than families not praying together or worse yet, families fighting against each other during prayer time.

The importance of family prayer cannot be stressed enough. If you’re looking for ways to grow even closer as a family through faith in Jesus Christ, make sure that you are praying together regularly. You will experience blessings beyond what you could ever imagine when families come before the Lord at His throne of grace on their knees seeking Him first (Hebrews 12:23). Remember it’s never too late because our children are watching our every move. We can be the model of a praying family for them right now.

The importance of family life

A strong family life is what I consider to be one of the most important areas of our lives we can focus on. God really puts the focus on the family when He created the first one, Adam and Eve. God says, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.” (Genesis 2:18)

God created us to be in relationship with one another. After all, God is referred to as our Heavenly Father making families incredibly important to His overall plan.

One of the most important aspects of the family is that parents are responsible for teaching children the truths and love of God and that includes a strong prayer life. It’s the key to every Christian home to help ensure your children are really feeling God’s presence in their life.

What about families that cannot pray together at the same time? With today’s fast-paced society, many families do not have a traditional family meal. In fact, some families barely see each other from one day to the next. If praying as a family is difficult because of your schedule, consider dividing up into groups and taking turns in different houses or even over the phone with someone who lives far away. You can all come before God’s throne on behalf of your loved ones no matter where they are. I promise we’ll give you some activities at the end to help with everyday life that will help you with family prayer time.

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Why should we have prayer time?

Jesus knew that even the disciples must learn to pray, and he thought it important to stop and spend more time with his disciples. Praying as a family helps us see His hand inside our lives.

Praying is the way we want to talk to God.

Prayer puts us in the right place to see God’s will for our lives.

Prayer is how we receive guidance, protection and provision from Him.

Family prayer time gives families a common goal with Christ at its center (Psalm 37:4).

It also teaches children about coming before God as well as their respect for parents who are praying on their behalf. Children need to learn that they can talk freely to Jesus without making others feel uncomfortable or like they’re “churchy”. At church it may feel easy but out in the world, it can be a struggle. Modeling the importance of family prayer and growing your relationship with God is important to helping your children develop their relationship with the Lord.

Family prayer is about families coming together to God’s throne of grace and a way for families to share burdens, support one another, pray for each other in times of need or trouble (Galatians 6:2).

Nothing is a better defense against the enemy than a family that prays together! The bible says communication with our Heavenly Father will protect us from Satan’s ploys when we are connected with the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thessalonians 3:3-5). We have no power over temptations from within ourselves or by Satan if we do not know how they work. That knowledge comes through communication with Him who understands them perfectly because He faced all of these traps Himself.

So how do you make prayer life important for the family?

Families Praying Together Stay Together: Tips for a Strong Prayer Life

Set a time of day for family prayer

Choose a day when family members are usually home and then start small.

I recommend finding time to be more tied to something that you do daily. For example, after dinner, sit by the table and pray together. Or you can do it before lunch or after dinner.

This doesn’t have to be big. It’s just about making time and doing it consistently so that it becomes a habit.

Family devotions together every morning or night will help families grow closer as they understand each other’s struggles better as well as their blessings from God. I read a devotional to my kids every morning before school. A little Word before world action happening here so we’re in prayer and the scriptures before they begin their day. It’s something my husband loves to do with our boys each morning and really just encourages their relationship. I can see how those relationships between my boys and their dad is increasing simply because they prayed together each morning.

Check out some of my favorite family devotionals below.

• Kingdom Family Devotional by Focus on the Family
• Grace for the Moment Devotional by Thomas Nelson
• The Family Devotional Bible by Our Daily Bread Publishing

Go on a prayer walk

That idea is special for the little kiddos and for parents who like to move around. This one is particularly interesting to challenge older kids to think outside of their box. You can pray for anything, Your neighbor’s car? We thank God that neighbors are getting around.

The prayer walk is a great way to remind the kids they can be thankful for all that God has created and really opens their eyes to see the beauty of God’s creation. I think it personally deepens that relationship and increases the appreciation for all that God has done.

Start a family blessing list

To give a family a reason to be thankful, you might as well start creating a blessed list. Challenge your family to keep a personal list (one for Mom, Dad, and your kiddos) of all that God has given to you and prayers that have been answered. At the end of the month, sitting together have the whole family praise the Lord for all the blessings He has gotten for you.

Give thanks to the Lord with your family’s praise and don’t complain about the things we don’t have or don’t like.

Sharing how God has answered prayers is a really great way to continue to encourage each family member to find their hope and joy in their relationship with the Lord.

Assign prayer partners amongst family members

We have learnt prayer in service to other people – an individual act that we can take out of ourselves. It’s particularly fun for larger families, divide the family into two groups and invite them to share a prayer request for their partner. Afterward, ask each partner to promise to pray for this prayer request for the week. Take part in your weekly Bible study as a family and share the things we prayed about and how God answered that prayer. Don’t be afraid to swap prayer partners after a certain amount of time so the relationships can continue to develop with another family member.

Don’t forget to write down their prayer requests.

Pray before meals

When you pray before meals it’s a good place to begin. It’s not just lip service that we’re given as we get back to our meal. We can thank God for all that He has given us. We use the dinner table to really thank God for everything that’s happened that day and what we’re focused on as a family.

The family that prays together, stays together. Kids need to learn the importance of prayer at a young age and families praying over their meals is just one way they can be taught this valuable lesson. It’s not about being religious or perfect but it’s more about teaching children how important it is to pray throughout the day.

Pray before bed

I love our evening family prayer time. It’s such a beautiful way to end our day. We talk about our highs and lows of the day, pray for each other/ families we know, what needs prayer. We thank God for all He’s done that day before bed & ask Him to watch over us as we sleep.

We pray for families around the world who are hurting, lost or sick and also for protection over them (this can be done as you watch news stories together). If it’s not appropriate to talk about what families are going through at that moment in history, we ask God to heal their pain & hurt; whatever it may be… We thank Him for His Word which will never return void (Isaiah 55:11).. Tell Him how grateful you are He sent his son Jesus to die on the cross so all have access back into heaven someday! I love seeing my kids light up when they know this truth.

Let’s talk about what not to do – The Lord’s Prayer

My family is guilty of this so know now I am not pointing a finger at you shaming you for using The Lord’s Prayer.

The Lord’s Prayer is actually one of the most misquoted parts of scripture and is the antithesis of what Jesus was teaching with this prayer. Pause for a moment if this is the first time you’ve heard this. I want you to be in the right headspace to hear the sincerity in my words.

Jesus taught us in Matthew chapter six, verses nine through thirteen when he was talking to his disciples about how we are not to pray like the hypocrites. The word hypocrite means an actor or someone putting on a show for others – which is exactly what your children are watching you do if you continue praying this prayer aloud.

We are instructed to be exactly the opposite of the pagans.

Instead, Jesus is instructing how we should pray (Matthew 6:9).

Jesus specifically says that we should not be like the hypocrites who pray in public, recite the same prayers, etc. No chanting here sweet friend and that’s exactly what we’re doing when we recite this prayer verbatim.

Instead, offer some simple prayer. God knows exactly what you need before you need. Jesus tells us that as well in Matthew 6.

It’s a really great chapter and I so encourage you to check it out.

The family is the most important thing in our lives.

So, why wouldn’t we want to pray together? Children need this foundation in their lives and families that pray together will easily see how important it is for them to do the same. Our families should be a safe haven where everyone grows closer with God through prayer. Praying out loud as a family can help build unity among children of all ages but especially amongst teens who may feel alone or disconnected at times with church or religion because they don’t fully understand what’s going on around them here lately especially when you consider our world today.

It’s crucial that families stick together during these challenging times more than ever before so continue praying while encouraging your kids to pray even if they’re not sure exactly what to pray for.

While not every Christian home is going to look the same, we can actively strive as parents to teach our children the power of prayer and building their relationship with their Heavenly Father by being forward-facing with our prayer life.

Step Two: Talk to your kids.

Have you told your kids yet that they are capable of praying? Honestly, it was super eye-opening for my kids when I told them they can talk to God about anything. It totally changed their prayer life and relationship with God.

Step Three: How can you make family prayer a priority in YOUR household today?

Whether it be adding more scripture or getting together with other families at church or whatever – just pray and then act on those things that come up.

Final Step (and the most important): Pray with me because my prayers alone aren’t enough anymore.

We gotta get God involved here! He loves helping us out when we ask him everything big AND small so let’s go ahead and enlist his help with our families now too shall.

I’d love to have you come to join a community of praying women. It’s totally free and on an app you already use. We hang out on Facebook and just really pour into one other and pray together. We work together as a family of sisters in Christ Jesus. Let’s be an example to one another and make new friends.

I hope you’ll join us!

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Drop a comment. I’d love to hear your biggest takeaway today!