So I got this last night from a woman named Shea. Ha Ha. I love it. If it only gets us thinking to say something different it’s a good start, right?
Kelsey messaged me and said, “The last couple years I’ve taken to talking about what I appreciate about my food. That it’s clean, that I have money to purchase it, that it’s tasty, that somebody else made it for me that day and I didn’t have to cook it that day, etc.” I think that’s a great idea!!
Please leave a comment about how you and your family avoid “Vain Repetitions.” The best response will get $12 on Venmo.
We do this every once in a while but my mom always does it. She thanks Heavenly Father for the weather that enabled the food to grow, the farmers who work hard to provide it, etc. Probably doesn’t work well when eating frozen pizza though. 😆 Some of my pickier kids also pray that they’ll be able to eat the food without complaining. 🤷🏼♀️
I find it helpful to picture my Heavenly Father there in the room with me as I pray, and to pray as though I’m speaking to Him face to face. It helps me really stay focused and sincere in what I’m saying. If I truly am asking Him to bless the food we are about to eat, so that it will keep our bodies strong and healthy, I’ll say it. Even if it’s the same (or similar) words, if I am sincere and thoughtful in what I’m saying, it will be a meaningful prayer. Our family often express gratitude for the food we are about to eat – for having access to nutritious food, and for the work we have that allows us to feed our family. There is so much to express to our Heavenly Father over our meals!
I learned this from someone- we hold a mini counsel before family prayer and discuss any prayer needs we’ve heard about. It helps us all keep an eye out for prayer needs and helps us be united in prayer when the person praying mentions that in the prayer. 🙂
I love this idea! Taking a few moments and talking about what we should pray for is such a simple, amazing idea!!
You were the winner!!! Yea! I tried to find you on VENMO and didn’t see you, so I’ll email you later today. Thanks for the great idea!!
I don’t usually say anything super exciting, just that I’m grateful for the food and pray it will give me energy or strength to accomplish what I need to that day. But on occasion when I’m not being as reverent as I should be and I’m blessings treats, I ask that the refreshments won’t kill us (:
I told my kids about this one night this week at dinner, they thought it was so funny and great, but they still say the same thing about the food every meal. HA! BUT…we had a discussion about Come Follow Me that everyone was engaged in and thought was interesting, so I’m still calling it a win! Thanks!
When I notice that my kids are starting to say the same thing over and over (in the same order 🤦♀️) I tell them they can still say it, but it has to be after they say two new things. With my little two (5 and 3) we talk with them before they pray and help them think of new things to say. My fiesty 5 year old has even prayed to have help eating the food cause he didn’t like the dinner I made 🙄
LOVED the emphasis on prayer in this episode! Last year my seven year old got really sick- like hospital stays, surgeries, sepsis kind of sick. Our ward was amazing in supporting us through this hard time, and our Sunday school teacher did something that reminded me of a story you shared. He bought everyone in our Sunday school class one of those cute patterned keys at Home Depot. He told everyone to say a prayer for my son every time they used their keys. Miracles happened and my son made a full recovery. Now the key is a reminder that God answers our prayers and now when someone I love is struggling, I’ll assign all my “key prayers” to them because I know prayer WORKS! Love you, lady.
I love these ideas! Repetitions are definitely in my house..oops! I have a 6 yr old and a 4 yr old and they’re so different. My 6 yr old likes to keep her prayers short and simple and they’ve become the same every night; we’ve challenged her to think about specific things she’s grateful for that day, as well as what she needs help with. Our 4 yr old always blesses the food at dinner time when it’s her turn, but she’s gotten a habit of asking Heavenly Father for strength and nourishment of our bodies in her bedtime prayer (I guess sleep helps with those!) but her prayers seem to be specific to the day which is a great example to me!
One thing for food prayers that I’ve thought about is rather than asking for strength for our bodies and leaving it at that, asking for that strength for our bodies so we can do the Lords will is a way we can step that up, and ask Him to help us to know His will as well.
My tween and teen kiddos seem to have the most struggle with saying THE SAME things for every single family prayer. Seriously, if I had a nickel for everytime one of my four has blessed us to, “have a good and safe day” (even if it’s 10 p.m. and we’re headed to bed… 😉), I’d have been able to retire in comfort by age 40!!! 😂
When the repetition gets bad, I remind my kids to make sure their prayers are fresh and thoughtful…and that I’m listening closely to hear what’s important enough for them to include, because what’s important to them is also important to me! Sometimes just knowing that someone is really listening makes a difference.
When that doesn’t do the trick, I’ve also been known to repeat the same phrases over and over again in response to a child’s questions to me, whatever they are. It usually only takes a few minutes for my kids to catch on that it’s frustrating to hear the same things on repeat during a conversation–especially when they have real things they actually want to discuss or plans that need to be made. It feels so one-sided…and it’s no fun to feel talked AT, but not really listened TO. We talk about Heavenly Father and how much He wants to sincerely converse WITH us…and for us to do the same with Him!
We haven’t mastered it all yet, but regular reminders to stay intentional in our praying has made a difference!
I love your podcast. I share something from it every week with at least one person every time I listen. Thank you.
Where can I find a reference for the quote, “The way you see a child is the way you treat them and The way you treat them is who they will become….”
It was mentioned in Lynn G Robbin’s talk, “The Righteous Judge” and he gives credit to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. When I looked it up it didn’t say, children, it said people. but the sentiment is the same I think.
In addition to counseling with each other about needs, we can counsel on things to be grateful for.
Gratitude brings abundance.
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