Prayer – fun family prayer time
Here’s a simple way of worshipping at home on your own or with your family. This one explores the holy habit of prayer.
- Say you’re going to be a little part of (name your church) church at home today.
- Light a candle and pray:
With the light of this candle, we remember the light of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
God, you are here with us now and also with our friends and family in their homes today.
Especially we remember that you are also with… (invite everyone to remember people from church, school, extended family, neighbourhood)
Thank you, Jesus, light for the world. Amen
- Say: Today we’re thinking about prayer: not wish-lists we read out to God, but prayer as the holy habit that connects us with God and with God’s kingdom, like air connects us with life.
Invite everyone to have two minutes to go round your home and bring back to the table one object that says something about prayer. Talk about what everyone brings back. If they fit into any of the sections below, refer back to them.
Examples include
a teaspoon – in a recipe book, a teaspoon measure is written as TSP – the first letters of Thank you, Sorry and Please.
a heart shaped object reminding us of God’s love
a favourite cuddly toy to represent that God is always with us
- Play some or all of Aretha Franklin’s ‘I say a little prayer for you‘ and talk about what everyone thinks of the way she prays in this song.
- Ask someone to read Luke 11:1-4.
Jesus Teaches About Prayer
11 One time Jesus was praying in a place. When he finished, one of his followers said to him, “John taught his followers how to pray. Lord, please teach us how to pray, too.”
2 Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say:
‘Father, we pray that your name will always be kept holy.
We pray that your kingdom will come.
3 Give us the food we need for each day.
4 Forgive us the sins we have done,
because we forgive every person who has done wrong to us.
And do not cause us to be tested.’”
Ask: Why do you think Jesus’ disciples asked him to teach them how to pray?
- Say: God’s people have prayed in many different ways. Here are a few.
Draw the shape from the photo – on to a piece of paper, give everyone coloured pens and fill it in as you go along, getting everyone’s suggestions of words or pictures to put in each section. If everyone thinks of other ways of praying, such as praying for other people, add more pieces of paper.
- They pray to praise God, just enjoying who God is
- They pray with silence and listen to God
- They pray with words – sometimes prayers created by other people and sometimes prayers straight from their heart
- They pray to say sorry
- They pray to say thank you
- They pray in anger, sadness or frustration
- Say the Lord’s Prayer together, with or without action
- Blow out the candle, changing the light from visible to invisible light
Jonah and the Big Fish
A very long time ago lived a man named Jonah; God had a special job for Jonah, God wanted Jonah to go to the land of Nineveh and to tell the people that their evil ways had broken God’s heart. Jonah didn’t like this special job and so Jonah decided to run away. Jonah got onto a boat that was going in the opposite direction of Nineveh!
While Jonah was on the boat a storm rose up around him and it shook and blew the boat so much that the sailors thought the boat was going to break! Oh no, how scary! Jonah knew that God had sent the storm and so Jonah told the sailors to throw him into the water.
God loved Jonah and so God sent a big fish to swallow Jonah. Can you imagine being inside of a big fish? It must have been dark, and squishy, and smelled like the ocean! While Jonah was inside of the fish he prayed, and after he was done praying God commanded the fish to spit him up onto shore.
God still wanted Jonah to go to the land of Nineveh, and so Jonah obeyed God. Jonah told the people of Nineveh that their evil ways had broken God’s heart and that God was going to destroy them, and guess what, the people were sorry and the cried for God to forgive them. God loved his people so much that He decided to forgive them, God loved his people so much that he decided he was not going to destroy them.
The Bible says:
10 God saw what the people did. He saw that they stopped doing evil things. So God changed his mind and did not do what he had warned. He did not punish them. (Jonah 3:10, ICB)
God always knows what kind of help we need.
Tell God you are sorry and he will give you a second chance.
Here are some ideas for your children based on the story.
Draw a fish or print out the one below. – Colour in or rip up pieces of tissue paper, scrunch them up and glue them on! The belly of the fish was probably a scary place to be, but god was with Jonah even there!
Have children press their fingers onto a stamp pad & stamp fingers onto paper. Add features such as fins.
Blow bubbles, just like fish do – invite your child to run around and pop them as fast as they can.
Prayer
Dear Jesus, we love you SO much! We pray that we can learn about how much you love us today. Come into our hearts and fill us with joy. Thank you for taking care of us. Amen
The Story of Noah
The story of Noah presents the flood as God’s spring clean of a world spoiled by people’s unkindness.
God was feeling sad. Everywhere he looked people were spoiling his world by arguing and fighting. No one loved God anymore 😢 💔 except for one man, Noah. He was a kind man who always listened to God and tried to please him.
“Noah” said God one day, “My world looks very dirty. It needs a good spring clean. I am going to send a BIG flood to wash all the unkindness away”.
“Oh dear” said Noah, “I am going to get very wet”.
God smiled, ” Don’t worry Noah, you are a good man. I will keep you dry. You must build a big boat called an ark. Give it a door and a roof to keep out the rain”.
So Noah built the ark. (Shall we help him? Mime hammering the wood🔨 )
“Now” said God “Fetch animals and birds of every kind and take them to the boat”. (Shall we help him?)
“All aboard” said Noah. Noah and his family got on the boat and shut the door.
Soon the blue sky turned grey and it became very dark. It began to rain and rain and rain.
The water rose higher and lifted the boat up. It floated! Noah and his family stayed safe inside the ark for forty days and nights. Until one day the rain stopped. The water went down and the ark landed on a mountainside.
“Now” said Noah “Let’s send a dove to see if there is anything green”.
The dove came back with a twig.
So Noah opened the door and saw a rainbow in the sky.
“Noah” said God “My rainbow is to say that never again will everything be washed away. I promise”.
Here are some ideas for your child based on the story:
Cut out some big raindrop shapes and decorate with rainbow colours and glitter.
Make some animal shaped biscuits.
Sing the song ” I hear thunder”
I hear thunder, I hear thunder,
Hark don’t you, hark don’t you?
Pitter patter raindrops, pitter patter raindrops,
I’m wet through, so are you.
Dress teddy in some boots, an anorak, a rainhat and give him an umbrella.
Pretend putting on boots, a raincoat, a hat and putting up an umbrella.
Pretend to go for a walk and jump over puddles.
Go outside and help to wash the garden furniture so that it is sparkling clean.
Prayer:
Dear God,
Thank you for all the colours of the rainbow red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. Whenever we see a rainbow help us to remember that you keep your promises and are always taking care of us.
Amen
Finding Beauty in the Small Things
Can you find one thing inside or outside your home that is small but precious and beautiful to you? It may be a pebble, a flower, a favourite toy or something that you have made yourself. We are all precious in God’s Eyes, however small we may be.
This week many of us will have seen and felt the gentle rainfall of Spring after many days of beautiful dry sunny weather.
Some families in far away places right now, don’t have the joy of the rain. Rainfall is precious to them. Their world is dry, meaning that they may face many different challenges to us.
In Peru, Gloria, age 9 said ” If I could change the world, I would collect water and grow plants, they help give us life, they protect us so that we can breathe fresh air
Thank you God that we can breathe fresh air and enjoy both the sunshine AND the rain.
Here are two activities which you may like to do together in your family, you could each even spend some quiet time on your own and then later share your thoughts about the small things.
Collect some rainwater and make a little rain pond, (you can use tap water if you don’t have any rain)
Use any small or large container.
Fill your little pond with anything you find, stones, shells, grass, petals, anything at all… Say thank you to God for the joy of His life giving water.
Share a piece of bread and take a drink of water with your family.
One cup, one bread, one family.
2. Make a Nature Box thanking God for all his Creation.
Any carton will do. You can use an egg box if you have one.
Collect small things from around your home or on your daily walk.
Talk about the things you have put in your box and say “We thank you God”
I Can Pray a Rainbow
“I can pray a rainbow…” Genesis 9 v 13
God placed a rainbow in the sky as a symbol of his promise never again to send a flood like the one Noah survived in the ark. Today, the rainbow is a symbol of hope for us all.
Here are two rainbow inspired activities for you and your family to explore together.
A RAINBOW PRAYER HUNT
Go on a search round your house and try to find something of each of the colours below.
Here is a prayer you can say for each colour as you find them.
RED ❤️ Thank you God that you love us and are always with us.
ORANGE (amber traffic light picture ) Dear God please help us to be patient, to listen to you as we wait for this crisis to end.
YELLOW (sad face emoji) Dear God, please help all those who are scared. May they know your perfect peace that takes away fear.
GREEN (first aid sign) Dear God please look after all those who are sick, give them the treatment and help they need.
BLUE (NHS sign) Dear God please protect all those who are working for the NHS, thank you for all they are doing to protect us.
PURPLE ( purple crown symbol) Thank you God that we are children of the King of Kings. Thank you that even though we are in difficult times we can trust in you.
Amen
RAINBOW LEAF PRINTS
Use washable coloured markers to colour a rainbow pattern on the back of a big leaf. Keep changing colours. Now you are ready to print. Grab some paper and a damp paper towel. Wipe across your paper with the paper towel so that it is just damp, not soggy. Turn the coloured part of the leaf on to the paper and press down gently. Press all over and then carefully remove the leaf. Try a fresh leaf and a different rainbow pattern – spirals, stripes, classic rainbow arches. They all turn out differently but they are all bright and beautiful.
Isolation
Lord God we pray for all the people who believe they are alone in isolation
Lord we know that they are not alone as you are with them offering strength, courage and comfort
Close their minds, hearts, ears and eyes Lord to fear, anxiety and solitude
Open their minds Lord to unlock your love and allow them to cast all their anxieties on to you
Open their eyes Lord and allow them to see your presence
Open their ears Lord and allow them to listen to your message of hope
Open their hearts Lord, uplift them and strengthen their faith so that they shall not be afraid
Lord God give them this courage and comfort in your name
Amen
George Lloyd
A Prayer for our Schools
Heavenly Father, we thank you that the students are able once more to go back into our schools, to work, learn and play together.
We are grateful to everyone who has worked so hard to make our schools safe for this to happen. Despite unprecedented challenges faced with COVID-19.
We pray that school leadership, parents, and students will have amazing learning and growing experiences and they will come to appreciate one another as never before.
We pray that challenges will become opportunities to learn not only academically but to discover new life lessons as well.
We pray that hearts will turn to Jesus Christ and find in Him their source of joy, peace, and fulfilment. May we seek ways to bless and encourage one another throughout the school year and be carriers of God’s love and presence.
Thank you in the name of Jesus,
Amen
Prayer
Loving Father, we thank you for your presence during these troubled times. We ask that you guide us and help us to reflect on the part we can play in accepting that the life and society we thought we enjoyed is now subject to fundamental change. May we take this opportunity to focus on new directions. May we adapt and prepare ourselves and our communities for whatever lies ahead. Thank you for those who use their skills to care for others. May we, too, in whatever way we can, spread your love and care to those around us. Grant wisdom to our decision makers and may they be guided by your ways of compassion, truth and justice. Amen
Barrie