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Tips on How to Pray as a Family

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ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS

As a young boy in elementary school I can remember often coming down the stairs of our old, three-story home in the mornings to find my father sitting in his green chair, with his bible by his side, as he finished his morning prayers. Whether intentional or not, we were taught as children that prayer was a regular part of life. We attended mass each Sunday without question. We prayed before every meal.  Every Sunday afternoon was family quiet time so that mom and dad could pray. We gathered at church many Sunday evenings to pray with friends and families from the neighborhood. My fathers’ commitment to regular prayer spoke volumes to me as a child about the importance of daily putting our relationship with God as the first priority. He also helped me learn how to pray as a family.

RESEARCH ON IMPORTANCE OF FAMILY PRAYER

Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health recently released a new study from a secular perspective on the benefits of prayer for kids. The study collected data from 5,000 respondents gathering information on the frequency of a child/teen attending church and the regularity a child/teen prayed or meditated on their own. The results were profound.

Children who attended church at least once a week were:

  • 18% more likely to report being happier in their 20’s
  • 30% more likely to do volunteer work
  • 33% less likely to do drugs

Those children who prayed or meditated regularly were more satisfied with their life, had better emotional stability, were less likely to be sexually active or have contracted a sexually transmitted disease, and were more likely to be forgiving of others. The study’s author, Ying Chen said “These findings are important for both our understanding of health and our understanding of parenting practices. Many children are raised religiously, and our study shows that this can powerfully affect their health behaviors, mental health, and overall happiness and well-being.”

THE STRUGGLE IS REAL

As a practicing Catholic, and as parent who wants to teach my children the value of prayer, I have learned that providing a good example to my children isn’t always easy. Yes, I have learned the importance of personal daily prayer. I have many examples of how Christ has worked through prayer in my life and the life of my family. What I struggle with is consistency and needed discipline. All too often I let the busyness of the day catch up to me. By the time bedtime rolls around I am tired and find myself saying a quick “Jesus bless Josh and Haley and give them a goodnight sleep.”  instead of taking a more proactive approach and praying together as a family. Yet, I am constantly convicted that it is my role, and that of my wife, to be the primary educators of our children in the faith.

In an effort to better our family’s prayer life, I reached out to several friends with two questions about how they pray as a family. Here is what they shared.

Question 1: What is the best way to start praying as a family?

(Fr. Steve)   Start simple. Don’t stress out about it. Kids should be taught first be seeing you. If there is a mommy/daddy prayer time, make sure the kids know that is what is going on. Have a time of family prayer. Keep it simple. Even small children who may not be able to engage in the prayer itself can be taught to kneel quietly while the family prays.

(Francisco) Children follow by example. It’s important as a parent to have my own prayer life and for my children to see this. When my children were young, they often could not say all the family prayers. We would teach them to sit peaceable by providing them with a religious book during prayer to sit without distraction. This was important to teach them because they have so many distractions (ex: electronics) and learning to be quiet and listen to God is important.

(Curtis) I use scripture as an aid. Every night I pray an abbreviated version of Numbers 6:24 while laying my hands upon their heads, “May the Lord bless you and keep you, may his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you, and give you peace.”

(Ryan) Every night I pray a blessing over my kids – “Your are faithful”; “You are pure of heart”, “You have a heart for other”, ext and with my hands on their heads. I do this even if they are already asleep.  With my older child (5 years old), we’ve begun using imaginative prayer, rooted in Ignatian prayer, asking the Holy Spirit to fill his spiritual faculties, particularly the mind, will, and imagination.

Question 2: What is one tip you would give to parents about praying with their children?

(Fr. Steve) Let kids pray according to their age. Younger kids you need to ask them leading questions about who they want to pray for or what they want to tell God than you for. And don’t freak out if they thank God for letting them play in the mud! Simply say, “Yes, and let’s also thank Him for the rain that makes the mud.”

(Francisco) We have found it’s important to teach young children to sit without distraction. As children get older and develop their own prayer life, we feed them with books that had good devotions (ie: prayer books, hymns, consecrations to Mary). We have noticed that if you start children with Eucharistic devotion early (simple prayers said in front of the tabernacle) it can reap untold blessings as they grow older.

(Curtis) We use the mantle above our fireplace to place a sacred image and have a petition jar in which we and our children place private prayers to God. Our kids see us using the jar and they use it as well. It’s there in front of the mantle that we gather for prayer each night.

(Ryan) I lead and model prayer for them.  I’ll invite them to pray in this way, “Now talk to Jesus like a friend.”  Every Mass and nearly every day I’ll tell my kids, “Talk to Jesus like a friend.” We also added at the beginning of this school year a new tradition of praying a morning offering as we pull out of the drive way on our way to school.

5 RESOURCES TO HELP BUILD FAMILY PRAYER

If you are at all like my wife and I, we rely on outside resources to help. Below are a few that I personally have found useful for my family or that others have recommended to me.

  1. How Can I Pray – Ralph Martin

This is a free downloadable pamphlet that provides a simple guide to daily personal prayer.

  1. Laudate Cell Phone App (Google Play) (Apple Store)

This free Catholic app contains a large volume of Catholic prayers including the rosary, daily readings, saint of the day, liturgy of the hours, and a long list of popular Catholic prayers.

  1. Teaching Kids Imaginative Prayer

A short read on how to teach your children imaginative prayer.

  1. MagnifiKid

Great resource that helps children follow the mass and teaches them about daily prayer, the saints, and the life of the church with fun games and graphics. Annual subscription is $34.90 a year.

  1. CCC of America VideosThis online Catholic resource has a host of materials on prayer, lives of the saints, heroes from the bible. These have been a great resource for us .

 

The post Tips on How to Pray as a Family appeared first on Catholic Best Choice.


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