Creative Ideas for Family Devotions

1. Draw a picture of the key thought in the passage.
2. Make a mosaic from different objects to illustrate the passage.
3. Role play the passage or key thought.
4. Make up a song to illustrate the passage.
5. Sing a song that goes with the passage.
6. Use a “Game Show” format for discussion.
7. Quiz each other about the passage.
8. Use rewards to encourage participation (especially for smaller children).
9. Print the verses on cards or poster paper, and put them on the wall.
10. Print selected phrases on index cards, and give them to family members to use for review.
11. Write an encouragement card to someone using a verse from the passage.
12. Send an encouraging text message to someone using a verse from the passage, and tell them it is from your family.
13. Watch a video together on the Quiet Time topic.
14. Have a friend come to your home and do the devotions for your family.
15. Take a family walk or hike and discuss the passage
16. Use props (such as homemade costumes).
17. Have a missionary in your home to share their ministry.
18. Look through different sections of the newspaper to find illustrations of the conditions or situations you saw in the Quiet Time.
19. Identify prayer requests for each other from the passage
20. Write a letter to God.
21.  Put on a puppet show to illustrate the passage or truth.
22. Share from the “Praise” pages in the Quiet Times.
23. If you or a family member is involved in an online community or blog, share some observations from your family time

Creative Prayer Ideas

• Establish a prayer focus for each night, such as a family member, your church, friends or missions.
• Pray for individual missionaries that your family or church supports. You may also use the requests listed in the Quiet Time Commentary each day.
• Focus on a particular family member and a personal prayer request. 
• Pray for the pastors and teachers in your church and schools.
• Pray for unsaved friends and family, and help your family understand how important it is to know Christ personally.
• Pray for your country and leaders.
• Create a prayer bulletin board and post pictures of those for whom you are praying or handwritten requests from family members. (Make it portable for easy use.)
• Use the prayer pages located in the front of all the Quiet Times to record prayer requests as well as the answers to those prayers. It is important to focus on how God is working in your family members’ lives.
• Get out of the house and take a prayer walk with the family—take turns praying as you walk.
• Use your Christmas cards as a way to pray for family and friends.
• If your children have cell phones, pray through the people in their phone contact list.

Creating Enthusiasm for Personal Quiet Time

• Parents, help your children actually do a quiet time if they are struggling.
• Model for the children how quiet time is important in your life as an adult.
• Show interest in what they are writing in their Quiet Times and allow them to share with you.
• Be transparent in sharing your observations and the things you have learned from your Quiet Time.
• Have older siblings assist younger brothers or sisters in doing their Quiet Times.
• Remember that every child is different and some will embrace the idea more quickly than others. Meet each child where they are spiritually and help move them forward. Be careful not to compare children.
• The Quiet Times are designed to teach greater responsibility as the child grows and matures. They have been written with this thought in mind. Therefore, you will see two basic approaches from the Early Learners to the Adult Quiet Times:
  • From the Early Learners through Grade 4, we try to communicate “you need to do this,” to help them know what to do. It is a little more direct and less subjective.
  • From the 5th grade forward, we try to help them think in terms of “I need to do this,” since they are growing and maturing in their walk with God. This allows for subjectivity and encourages greater personal application.

Discussion Starters

Beginning dialog can be one of the most difficult components of family devotions. Here are some discussion starters to help jump-start your time together:

• Ask, “What is the writer saying in today’s passage?”
• Ask, “How does this apply to my life?”
  • If you are having devotions in the morning, how can you apply this today?
  • If you are having devotions in the evening, how did you apply this today?
• Write your own specific questions from the passage as you do your personal quiet time.
• Ask about the characters in the passage (if applicable).
• Ask who is talking in the passage.
• Ask who the writer was talking to in the passage.
• Look for any words used multiple times and ask why you think the writer did this.
• Ask if the writer was happy or sad when he wrote this.
• Ask where you saw God in this passage.
• Ask what was learned about God from this passage