Family prayer bag: 10 easy and fun ideas to help families pray together

This weekend I am off at a gathering of churches from our diocese and beyond and will be running a workshop for parents about how they can help children to engage with faith at home.  To give them some ideas for praying together, I've made up some bags which we will work our way through during the session!

Here's one of the bags laid out...

I've included: some bubble wrap, felt tip pens, spotty paper, play dough, play coins, plastic teaspoons, bubbles, pipe cleaners, playing cards, skittles sweets and lego.

Here's how I will suggest we might use each item (after getting some ideas from the parents themselves which will probably be even better than these ideas!!)

Family Prayer Bag

1. God Venture Skittles Prayers: 

(Found at http://godventure.co.uk/prayer-activities/sweets-prayer/- thanks Victoria for this amazing idea!)

Choose a skittle at random, say the appropriate prayer and then eat it!

Red: family

Purple: friends

Green: the environment/animals

Yellow: the world

Orange: school/work

2. Play dough Prayers (see also Play dough intercessions)

Model the play dough into the shape of something you would like to thank God for or ask Him for

3. Heads/tails Prayers

Flip the coin

Heads- Thank you prayer

Tails- Please prayer

4. Bubble Wrap worry Prayers

Tell God your worries and pop a bubble as a symbol of giving your worry to God

5. Pipecleaner Intercessions (see also pipe cleaner prayers)

• Make your pipe cleaner into the initial of the name of someone or something.  Pray for that thing/person
• screw your pipe cleaner up and pray for people who are confused and upset
• link your pipecleaner to someone else’s and pray for people who are lonely
• put your pipe cleaner around your wrist like a bracelet as a reminder that God is always with you.

6. Teaspoon Prayers

Choose a spoon at random and pray the appropriate prayer

T- Thanks 

S-Sorry 

P-Please 

7. Squares Prayers

Take it in turns to connect two dots with a line.  When you make a complete square, write the initial of or draw a small picture of something or someone you want to pray for.  The winner is the one who has made the most prayer squares!

8. Playing Card Prayers

Choose a card at random

Red number- sorry prayer

Black number- thank you prayer

King- give a word that describes how great God is

Queen- pray for a girl

Jack- pray for a boy

9. Bubble Prayers

say a please, sorry or thank you prayer.  Blow some bubbles and picture giving your prayer to God

10. Lego Thank You Prayers (see also Lego prayers and Lego Intercessions)

Build a tower of lego blocks.  For each block you add, thank God for someone or something. 

Click here for printable instructions.