Ways to Observe Virtual Grandparents’ Day of Prayer

^{by: Sherry Schumann}

Grandparents’ Day of Prayer: September 13, 2020

The purpose of Grandparents’ Day of Prayer is to raise an awareness of prayer among today’s Christian grandparents. The day is normally celebrated in churches, homes and Christian schools. Social distancing, however, imposes restrictions on this event. This year, we suggest you observe Grandparents’ Day of Prayer by choosing one (or more) of the following:

Step-up your prayer life:

• Give thanks for your grandchildren and pray for their new school year.
• Write out a prayer for each of your grandchildren. This prayer/ writing can take any form. Write them as poems, journal entries, letters or whatever style is most comfortable for you. (Grandchildren love to receive mail from their grandparents; therefore, you may want to send it to them via “Snail Mail.”)
• List the names of your grandchildren on a piece of paper. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you a Bible verse for each grandchild and record this verse next to each name. Incorporate these verses into your prayers for your grandchildren during September. (For more help praying Scripture, please see Christian Grandparenting Network’s 31 Scriptures to Pray for Your Grandchildren.)

Encourage other grandparents to pray:

• Pray with another grandparent over the phone.
• Pray virtually with one or more grandparents by using a free online communication tool such as Zoom, Skype or Facetime.
• Invite two grandparents to join you for prayer time on your porch. Observe socially distancing as you do.

Model prayer for your grandchildren:

• Text your grandchildren and ask if they have any prayer requests. If your grandchildren are too young, you can ask their parents. Make this a weekly habit.
• Text your grandchildren and let them know that you prayed for them on Grandparents’ Day of Prayer.
• Pray virtually with your grandchildren by using one a free online communication tool such as Zoom, Skype or Facetime.
• Teach your grandchildren how to Pray the Alphabet: Working from A to Z, pray one specific thing for each letter.  Leave the focus of the prayer wide-open or identify a focus before you begin. For example, you and your grandchildren might choose to pray for things related to school, their relationships, struggles, or the development of Godly character traits.
• Start a Legacy Prayer Journal: Two generations working in one prayer journal – together. This tool and method help promote communication, build connection, and encourage the modeling and discussion of prayer. Be the “keeper” of the journal and use technology to elicit entries from your grandchildren.