The Prayer Jar 2.0

Nine years ago, I wrote names on a bunch of popsicle sticks, labeled a jar "prayer," and started praying occasionally with my then-very-little boys. You can read it about it here: http://workbepraise.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-prayer-jar.html. 

Not long after that post, I unexpectedly got pregnant with Toby. To put it very mildly, that fourth boy in 4.5 years threw everything off kilter, and even little routines like the prayer jar fell by the wayside as we merely survived. Then we moved 800 miles across the country. Then we had two more kids. And while we have definitely developed routines of all sorts over the last decade -- our homeschool days have been predictable and manageable for two years now! -- I've had no success getting morning prayer (or morning anything, really) to stick.

But here are at the end of our second month of school, and we're doing it! I really only made one major change: I don't wait for everyone to be at the table. I have kids who rise at 7 on the dot, and kids who sleep till 9. Some of them are done with breakfast by 7:45 and have scampered off to play, while some trudge to the table an hour later and reheat oatmeal. By the time the late risers were ready, we'd be so behind on the morning that I'd be frustrated. (I am not a morning person, so I have great compassion for those who have the luxury of sleeping in.)

This year, we do prayer at the table at 8:30 no matter who's there. It's okay if you're still eating breakfast. It's okay if you stumble in halfway through. It's all okay.

Here's our routine, which takes about ten minutes:

• Sing a song. Usually "This is the Day" or "Rejoice in the Lord Always," but if the kids have a song to learn for kids' choir, we'll do that instead.
  
• Read a psalm. Or part of a psalm, if it's long or particularly complex. (It's all okay.) Pull out one quick thing about how we can apply the psalm.
• Pick a stick. I give the kids an opportunity to ask me how they can pray for the person/family they picked, which helps them to know what's going on with the people we know. If they pick a sibling's name, they have to ask that person, "how can I pray for you?" and the sibling has to answer. Because that's a skill that has to be practiced, too. 
• Everyone takes a turn to pray!

My sweet-but-sassy three-year-old told her six-year-old brother today to pray "that I would not get too sad and would not be angry at Mommy." My teen always prays serious things that make me laugh inside, like, "please help [mom with young kids] deal with the challenges of raising young children." (Wonder how he knows it's challenging . . . ) We pray that our fine arts teachers would use their gifts for God's glory, and that other adults in our life would come to know Jesus. Sometimes it's as simple as thanking God for our Sunday school teachers or praying that our friends would have a good day at school. It's all okay.

One end of each stick is colored orange, so after someone has prayed, they put that stick in the jar orange-side down. When all the orange sides are down, we flip the whole batch over and keep going. Periodically one of us will remember somebody who should've been in the jar, and we make a new stick. (Want to be in the jar? Send me a message! We'd love to pray for you!)

I share this not to brag about our habits. Remember, it's taken me 13 years of parenting and 9 years of homeschooling to get into a routine that works. I just like sharing ideas that might work for someone else, too!