Fun Family Prayer Adventures

By Mike and Amy Nappa
Guest Contributors

CBN.com – PRAYERS WITH CANDY

Focus: Praying for others

Use M & M's candy to help focus your family's prayers of intercession for others.

Pass around a bag or bowl of M & M's the next time your family is gathered for prayer. Let each person take a handful, but don't let anyone eat the candies yet. Explain that the color of the candies will indicate the direction of the families' prayers. Lead your family in prayer using this guide and stopping for prayer after explaining each color.

Say:

For every green M & M you chose, pray for your spouse (present or future) or some other significant person in your life. This is a great way to get kids thinking about what qualities they want to find in a future mate. Encourage them to pray for this person’s safety, spiritual and physical growth, and so on).
For every red M & M you chose, pray for a member of your family by name (a parent, son, daughter, brother, sister, grandchild, niece, nephew, cousin, aunt, uncle, and so on).
For every orange M & M you chose, pray for a teacher in your life (a co-worker, a professor, a pastor, a Bible study leader, a child’s school teacher, a mentor, or another teacher).
For every yellow M & M you chose, pray for one of your neighbors (a neighbor near your home, an office-mate, a person whose desk is near yours at school, or a neighbor close to your church).
For every dark brown M & M you chose, pray for a leader in your life (a politician, a local businessperson, a celebrity, a member of your church’s staff, the President, or another leader).
For every light brown M & M you chose, pray for Christians in other countries.

This might be best used as an after dinner prayer time. Repeat this process as often as you family's calorie intake allows!

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES

Focus: Thanking God for responding to prayers

Start a box of memories in which you will collect mementos to remind you and your family of God's active presence in your lives.

Begin by taking a shoe box or other similar container and having family members decorate the outside of the box. (You can use items such as wrapping paper, construction paper, stickers, and markers for decorations).

Then tell your family, "Each time we notice God working in response to one of our prayers, we’ll find something that will remind us of what God has done and put it in this box."

Give your family examples of what you mean, such as these:

if a friend recovers from an illness, you might put a get-well card in the box,
if God provides for you financially, you could drop a check stub in the box,
if you pray for guidance and God leads you in a certain direction, you may want to add a compass or road map to the box,
if you pray for help on a test and do well, you might want to put a page of your class notes into the box (after the test!).

After a week of collecting items in your memories box, gather together to look through the box. Use it to remind everyone of reasons for thanking God. Include in your prayer a time of thanksgiving when you open the box and take out the mementos one by one. As you examine each thing, have the family member who chose the item thank God for what it represents and for the way God has worked in his or her life in the past week.

At this point the box can be emptied and your family can start over, or you may wish to leave these mementos in the box to serve as long-term reminders of God’s work. Continue to add to the box as often as you like, using it whenever you all need a reminder of how God has answered the prayers of your family.

To comment on what you've read or to contact the authors, please send email to: Nappaland@aol.com.

Fun Family Prayer Adventures: Part Two adapted and reprinted by permission from 52 Fun Family Prayer Adventures by Mike & Amy Nappa, copyright ©1996 Nappaland Communications Inc.; administered by Augsburg Fortress.