Family Ministry

We teach acronyms like CHAT or ACTS that remind us that prayer is about giving God praise, confessing sin, and giving thanks yet, in the public arena it feels like our requests often take center stage. Sometimes it's as if adoration and thanksgiving are like introductions and conclusions but what we're really coming to God for is to ask for some things.

What is prayer really about?

Why did Jesus pray... and how?

In examining a couple of passages involving Jesus and prayer, a theme emerges - the Father's will. He mentions it when teaching the disciples how to pray, "thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven..." and when Jesus is praying in desperation and sorrow at Gethsemane, "not my will but yours be done."

Jesus used prayer as a time of surrender.

It was more important to listen than to speak.

Anxiety, worry, fear - these are all emotions that come with having a family! We are told that God cares for us and because of that, we should cast all of our anxiety on Him.

It is easy for parents to get anxious about how our children will behave, worry about how they'll turn out, and get nervous about the job we're doing as parents. Cast that anxiety on Jesus.

What about your kids? What makes them anxious?

This is a great topic in our series on prayer.

Read 1 Peter 5:7 and Philippians 4:6.

How can you teach your children this week about praying through worry and anxiety?

Hello! Is anyone out there?

Something we all struggle with in prayer at some point or another is wondering if God is out there, if He is listening and if He cares. Children are not immune to the same questions and doubts. Prayer is an exercise of faith and an opportunity to have good conversations in our families about what that means.

This week's lesson was from Isaiah 59:1-2, which says,

"Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save,

nor his ear too dull to hear.

2 But your iniquities have separated

From Draw the Circle, "there comes a moment when you must quit talking to God about the mountain in your life and start talking to the mountain about your God."

As a group on Sunday we drew from the text, Mark 11:15-26 to learn and pray in 3 sessions:

1. Pray for faith - see also Mark 9:24, "I believe, help me in my unbelief."

2. Pray for forgiveness - that we would forgive anyone we have anything against (Mk 11:25)

3. Pray for mountains to be thrown into seas, Mark 11:23

There are aspects of prayer that will always be mysterious to us. We can share that with our children. Though there are not proven formulas or magical words, there are thematic truths that we can learn from Scripture about prayer and this passage contains some of them.