Together We Pray

Book excerpt: Together We Pray is a book of prayers written especially for families with children. It brings together grandparents, parents, older children, and even the youngest child to give thanks and to ask for God's help and mercy for the family and for the world. The prayers offered in Together We Pray are inspired by the Psalms of the Bible, scripture shared by Jews and Christians. They include prayers for the table, devotional prayers, and memory prayers that young children can easily understand. The prayers for table and devotion begin with a line or two from the Psalm in which the prayer is rooted and celebrate the good things of life just as the Psalms do--food, joy, home, love, and more. They also express a concern for other people and places around the world. For so many families, life today seems fast-paced and chaotic. Stopping for a moment to breathe, pausing and expressing thanks and gratitude to God, can be very powerful, even if the pause is relatively brief. Together We Pray helps families to take that pause, to share in God's love and grace, and to do so in the most profound and lasting way--together as a family.