The Extra Blessings of Family Prayer

One father, a quiet, unassuming man, found it hard to express his love for his family. At his wife’s prompting they began holding family prayer, and it became an opportunity to voice what was in his heart. To their daughter, who had misinterpreted her father’s manner as indifference, the experience was a revelation. His prayers were simple and sometimes clumsily worded, but to hear him say “Bless my lovely daughter to do good” thrilled her.

A timid boy who thought of himself only as a “scaredy cat” felt new pride and self-esteem when his father and mother thanked God for their “kind, gentle son.” And the boy’s self-confidence continued to grow through prayer when even his little brother thanked Heavenly Father for his “big, strong brother.”

In preparation for a family outing in our own family, my husband asked the Lord to bless our family to get along and to enjoy each other’s company. The preaching we had done had gone unheard, but that reverent prayer brought cooperation.

Our teenage son was tense and sullen whenever we tried to discuss any problem with him. We decided it was important to plan the discussion when he would be most receptive, and that seemed to be at family prayer time in the mornings. It was then that the house was quiet and we shared a humble, sincere feeling. We found the tenseness eased when prayer preceded our discussions.

During these quiet moments of family prayer, we are keeping in touch with each other and with our Father in heaven.

Photography by Longin Lonczyna, Jr.