I hope you find this to be a great faith activity for the whole family of all ages. This week’s theme is based on Reverend Christian Briones’ sermon and the scripture from the service.
Scripture
Romans 8: 26- 27
- (NRSV) 26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes[a] with sighs too deep for words. 27 And God,[b] who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit[c] intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.[d]
- (Message) 26-28 Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.
- (Spark) Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
Questions and Family Wonderings Based on Above Bible Story
- Is there a “right” way to pray, do you think?
- What noises do you make when you can’t find your words? (We all do this!! I know I do!)
- When you think of the word Spirit, what comes to your mind?
Thoughts from the Director of Faith Formation
When we think of prayer, we think of eyes closed, hands met at the center of our chest, maybe our heads bowed slightly, and words. Lots and lots of words. Yes. That is one way to pray.
Sometimes, we don’t have words though. Or, we can’t think of the words. Or, we’re like, “this thing that our world needs is beyond words.” Prayer isn’t just words. Prayer can be our thoughts and dreams made flesh, or putting our hearts into action, following God’s will as well as we can.
Prayer can be our protest, our songs, our food donations, our financial contributions, our tears of frustration, our laughter and joy. We can live prayerfully in a state of communication with the Divine through how we live, and not just what we say when our eyes are closed, heads bowed, and hands met. Though, there is a lot of solace in praying that way too!
Really, there is no right or wrong way to pray! And, I can tell you from personal experience, I’ve prayed all the above ways and more.
Spiritual Food — A Family Activity: Let Us Pray
Supplies Needed:
- An open heart
- Piece of paper
- Writing utensil
- All willing family participants
Do you pray as a family? Like, the word kind of prayer. If not, would you like to? How about creating a family prayer together? Something that y’all say together at meal time, or the start of the day, or at the end of day just before story time or bed time.
Creating a prayer can be as simple as this, “Dearest God, thank you for the day. Amen.” And, it can be more personalized too. Maybe you would like to have a kind of gratitude prayer to end the day off together. Or, maybe a hopeful prayer for the start of the day.
You can for sure find prayers in books. And, I encourage you to write your own prayer as a family. It could even be a new family tradition you start.
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