Try these activities with your family to help improve both individual and family prayers:

1. Happy Thoughts and Needs

To avoid repetition in prayer, ask each family member to share one thing they are happy about or grateful for that day. Then, encourage the person saying the family prayer to include some of the “happy thoughts” in the prayer. This will help each family member really ponder the ways Heavenly Father has blessed their lives each day. There may also be an opportunity to think about a family member who is in need of a special blessing, such as help with a test, a job interview, or finding a new friend. Praying for someone by name draws a family together.

2. Remember, Remember

Read or listen to President Henry B. Eyring’s general conference talk titled “O Remember, Remember,” and look for ways to recognize and remember God’s kindness.³

3. Listening for Answers

After your children say their individual prayers, encourage them to write down any thoughts or ideas they might have. Be sure to explain that answers do not always come right away. Sometimes our answers are not at all what we expect, and they may come at random times. By keeping the Holy Ghost always in our hearts, we can recognize the answers to our prayers when they do come.

4. Lead by Example

Show your children that prayer is important to you. Share experiences you have had with prayer, and bear your testimony of how it has helped you in your life. If prayer is new to you, that’s okay. Explain to your children that we are all in different places in our journey. Share ways that you are trying to improve your relationship with Heavenly Father, and encourage them to do the same, both individually and as a family.

Notes

Bible Dictionary, “Prayer.”
Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Gordon B. Hinckley (2016), 107.
Henry B. Eyring, “O Remember, Remember,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2007, 66–69.