Teaching Families to Pray

A new book titled Teach Us to Pray suggests starting the celebration of Advent by setting an extra place at the table in your home or adding an extra chair to the area where you pray as a sign of expecting the return of Jesus.

Also suggested for November 27, the first day of Advent, is a song, a short Bible reading, a time to reflect briefly on the reading, a prayer, and a final blessing.

From there, the book published by Calvin College Press moves through the days of Advent and the rest of the seasons of the church year, each day following a similar pattern geared for family worship.

“Throughout the year, users are invited to open each book of the Bible, to engage with each season and celebration in the Christian year, to pray for a wide range of concerns, and to sing some wonderful (mostly bilingual Spanish-English) songs for intergenerational use,” said John Witvliet, director of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship.

The 864-page book, he said, is simple but not simplistic, childlike but not childish—and can be used in a setting that gathers people from all ages.

“Here is a volume that can be cherished by not only parents and guardians but also grandparents, church education teachers, church librarians, Christian school teachers. It is designed for use over multiple years,” said Witvliet.

The book was inspired by the bestselling Seeking God's Face written by Philip F. Reinders and offering an entire year of daily prayer based on the ancient spiritual practice of the “daily office.”

Created with help from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, Teach Us to Pray: Scripture-Centered Family Worship through the Year is coauthored by Lora A. Copley and Elizabeth Vander Haagen.

Copley, a mother of four children, is an ordained CRC minister who teaches in a pastoral leadership program for the Navajo Nation and also at Rehoboth Christian High School.

Vander Haagen, also an ordained minister of the Word, is a mother of three children and serves as a copastor at Boston Square CRC, Grand Rapids, Mich.

Both Copley and Vander Haagen tested sections of the book to see which parts moved too slowly or needed clarity, especially for children, and which of the activities suggested for parts of the church year worked.

Copley says in an acknowledgement to the book that her children “vetted this book as, over the just-finished meal, we held up our candles and followed each other around the kitchen, or clambered over each other to share prayer ideas.”

Overall, said Vander Haagen, they hope that families “can get a richer and deeper understanding of prayer and Scripture from the book and that it can help them to establish daily or weekly family rhythms of prayer.”

The goal, said Vander Haagen, is for the Holy Spirit to “help families encounter Jesus together.”

Although the book is thick, covering all 365 days of the year, it is written to be adaptable; families can use it as they see fit and as it meets their needs.

“We want you to figure out what works for you,” said Vander Haagen. “It is intended to be easy and accessible.”

To purchase the book, visit Teach Us to Pray.