52 Fun Family Prayer Adventures

Creative Ways To Pray Together

By Mike and Amy Nappa
Augsburg, $7.99

ISBN 0806628413

Spit Seeds, Fish For Prayer

Review by Anne Callahan

How is a family with young children, an eight-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl for example, going to have meaningful prayer time week after week? Mike and Amy Nappa have created 52 "prayer adventures" or Creative Ways to Pray Together as the subtitle calls them.

From Seed Spittin' Prayer in which family members spit watermelon seeds to determine what kind of prayer (thanks, praise, forgiveness, or help) they say to Fishing for Compliments where each family member fishes for cardboard loops containing things they'd like to compliment God on, these suggestions mix prayerful devotion and focused activity to build relationships with God and with one another. Although the activities take some preparation, the required materials are ordinary household items.

One of the first activities in 52 Fun Family Prayer Adventures is a week of learning about praying as the Bible directs. There are also activities designed to help young ones learn prayers from the Bible. A special section, "Prayer Adventures for Special Occasions," includes activities for birthdays, vacations, Christmas, and Easter. An index of Bible verses is also included.

You may be tempted to leaf through the pages just to find the quotes on prayer by well-known people: Charles Colson, Michael W. Smith, Mother Teresa, E.M. Bounds, to name a few. Some are a little surprising: serious theologian Reinhold Neibuhr is quoted as saying, "Humor is a prelude to faith, and laughter is the beginning of prayer."

The Nappas must think so too. They've put together a super guide for families who want to give their whole lives to God and to enjoy Him forever.


Anne Callahan is a freelance reviewer from Chicago, IL.



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