How are we going to pray pt2: Give God some space

One of the other suggestions is to pray for half an hour either at 12pm or 1pm. Now this presents a challenge for some of our children. If we are full time at home with our children and they are not yet at school and not taking a nap then it may just be possible to pray at 1pm. However for most of us these times will not work with our family and in truth neither will praying for half an hour.
Fasting is a discipline that the bible talks a lot about and it is a good idea to somehow have it form part of our prayer life. When Jesus talked about it in Matthew 6v16 he said 'When you fast' he seems to be implying that it happens. He also goes on to say that it isn't about scoring points with God or looking 'holy'. This is not the purpose of fasting, as Henry wrote:

'The purpose of fasting is to deny ourselves something as a way of telling God that our desire for him and for his purposes in our lives is greater than even our normal human appetites.'

So how can we do this as a family? Instead of giving up half an hour to pray and hoping the kids will just keep up why not find half an hour in which your kids might ordinarily watch there favourite cartoon, zoom around in the garden or make Michelin star food in their play kitchen and gather together. That means us adults leaving our smartphones, putting the newspaper down, and switching off the TV so we can ALL gather together.

Now if you have young children or a range of ages it might not quite work out as an uninterrupted half hour of prayer. That's alright because this is not about a religious and legalistic action. This is an opportunity for us to make some space. It might be a little, it might be a lot, as long as we find some. In creating some space we're saying to God, you matter to us and there are lots of things that matter to you and we want them to matter to us as well. 

• If you're nursing why not make sure your baby is with you whilst you pray. Even if they can't actively pray themselves you can pray with them and let them be with you as you pray. Play some music and sing the things you want to see God do through his church here.
• Read a bible story together and ask your children what they think the Holy Spirit is saying through the story and then pray together about that.
• Set out some art and craft materials on a table. Talk about the three main prayer points (A new church building, God's provision, more Holy Spirit power). Play some music and together make your prayers into pictures. 
• Use the half hour of prayer as your mealtime but perhaps just eat basic food like plain rice or plain toast and pray together.
• Share communion together.

These are just some ideas of things you could do to fill the SPACE you want to give to God. Let's be creative, we all have it in us because we were made by the creator! Jesus teach us how to pray as a family. This could be the start of something new!