5 Tips for Praying Scripture as a Family

A couple years ago, I became convinced I needed to pray scripture for my kids. I realized only the word of God verbalized the deep desires of my heart for my kids… not to mention God’s will and His heart.

But honestly, I didn’t know where to start. Let’s face it, the Bible is a big book! I knew I needed some simple tools to help me. Today I’d like to share what I’ve learned about praying scripture for my kids. I hope these tips help you as well.

Pair Prayer with a daily routine

As a busy (easily distracted!) mom, I’ve learned I pray much better when doing something else. Like washing the dishes or taking a shower or going for a walk. Boy, I can start storming it up in prayer while doing me some laundry! And why not? This is actually a great way to pray God’s Word~ by pairing prayer with something you already do every day. It doesn’t feel overwhelming this way.

Action Tip: Go ahead right now and choose a routine you’d like to pair prayer with. You can start praying scripture TODAY!

Use a simple tool

Since I know I pray better while doing other things, something I’ve done is make scripture prayer cards to hang around my home. While I’m standing at the kitchen sink, I pray Romans 12:10 because that’s the verse taped to my refrigerator. When I’m taking a shower, I pray I Timothy 6:6 because it’s hanging on my mirror. Having a simple tool like these scripture prayer cards has deepened the quality and quantity of my prayers.

Action Tip: Download this free set of prayer cards or find another simple tool that works for you.

Have a bedtime blessing

If I don’t pray with my kids at night before bed, they will come get me out of mine. It is a big deal for them that I pray with them every night, even though every night I pray just about the same thing. Each night I pray some version of the priestly blessing over them from Numbers 6:24-26:

“The Lord bless you
and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you
and give you peace.”

Action Tip: Choose a scripture to pray as a blessing over your kids each night.

Memorize God’s Word as a family

Just to state the obvious: It’s easier to pray scripture if scripture is hidden in your heart! Consider using family dinner time to memorize a verse a week; or practice verses together at bedtime, bath time, car time, or other together times.

Action Tip: Select a verse to begin memorizing and pray through it as a family. My personal favorite is Psalm 19. You can memorize it one verse at a time!

Establish a family prayer prompt

This tip can be really fun for the kids and a lifesaver for mom. The idea here is to get everyone praying scripture through established prayer prompts. For example, every time the phone rings, pray for a neighbor. Or when someone uses the word “stupid” or other unacceptable word, that is a prompt to pray Luke 6:45. The sky is the limit on this idea.

I love using prayer prompts to praise God for His goodness too, like each time it rains, pray Matthew 5:45. There are so many ways to use this idea! I do recommend starting with one at a time, though and adding slowly 🙂

Action Tip: Brainstorm ways you can use prayer prompts in your home. Then select ONE idea to implement this week.

I hope these ideas help you start praying scripture today. I’d love to hear in the comments what questions you have or the tips/tools you use for praying scripture. God bless you and your family~~ AJ

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Arabah Joy is wife to Jackson, adoptive and biological mom to 4 little ones, and missionary to East Asia. Her adventures span far and wide, from eating pig snouts to giving birth in three different Asian countries. Mostly though, she is a broken woman redeemed by grace. She has written several books including the 40 day devotional, Trust Without Borders. You can find out more and connect with her at ArabahJoy.com.