Supporting Family Prayer: 50 Ways to Pray in 5 Minutes or Less

Because I know that parents are the primary and most important educators of the faith for their children, it is important to me as a DRE and teacher to help them feel equipped and able to actively live their faith as a family.

I think that prayer can be one of the most intimidating things to build into a family culture, mostly because it is so intimate and personal, and therefore harder to lead and share, especially if you might be struggling with prayer yourself. To show that family prayer doesn't have to be complicated, I created a couple of resources we used at a school parent night and I am sending home to my CCD families.

The first has a simple structure for prayer called ACTS: Adoration, Contrition, Thanksgiving, Supplication and prayer starters to go with each step.  I have other ACTS resources here and here. The pattern is useful for any age from toddler through adult and can both widen and direct the focus of prayer.  Plus, it is something that you can do for two minutes, ten minutes, or an hour. It's such a flexible structure and I love using it with kids.  I also included some basic prayers on that sheet, making it handy to post on the fridge or keep at a kid's bedside table.

The second handout has fifty ideas for praying as a family in five minutes or less. There are so many possibilities and methods of prayer, and I think that is is good to remind ourselves that we can use any of them- what is most important is conversing with our Creator. If bedtime is chaos for your family, then pray together in the van after school. If after school activities keep you from being around the dinner table most nights, try using ACTS over breakfast. If your child struggles memorizing prayers right now, read them Bible stories, or let them journal, or sing a prayer. By opening your home to becoming a place of shared family prayer in all things, kiddos grow closer not only to God, but also to their siblings and parents. A family that prays together stays together.

Click on either image below to download the printables. Feel free to send in your parish/school/class newsletters!