The document discusses the importance of family prayer and renewing the practice of the family altar. It describes how family altars were historically common, but declined over the 20th century as families spent less time together. The document advocates for restarting daily family prayer, using Bible readings, singing, and celebrating Jewish feasts and holidays as occasions for faith and prayer. It provides suggestions for praying with children and keeping a family prayer journal to record their spiritual experiences.

1. PRAYER – THE HEART OF IT ALL – P. DOUGLAS SMALL – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ©
SECTION Two
Personal and
Family
Prayer
CHAPTER
SEVEN
Inset: Praying with and
for Your Kids
Changing Times
Inset: Family Altar
Dedication
Renewing the Practice of
the Family Altar
A Physical Space
 Our Jewish Prayer
Heritage
The Family in Prayer
Inset: House Dedication
The Feast Days – Faith
Celebrations
The
Family
Altar!

2. PRAYER – THE HEART OF IT ALL – P. DOUGLAS SMALL – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ©
SECTION Two
Personal and
Family
Prayer
CHAPTER
SEVEN
Chapter 7 continued …
A Family Faith
Calendar
Inset: Keep a Family Journal
Inset: Prayer Treks
 Conclusion
The
Family
Altar!

3. PRAYER – THE HEART OF IT ALL – P. DOUGLAS SMALL – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ©
Genesis 12:7…
“The Lord appeared to Abram and said, ‘To your
descendants I will give this land. So he built an
altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him’”
(NASB).
The altar built by Abraham, was a family altar.
It was to solidify the promise of generational
provision.
A family altar preserves the promises of God for
the next generation.
The promises of God demand our response.
Prayer, the essence of the altar, is our response.
Prayer grasps the promises.
Prayer says, “Yes and amen!”

4. PRAYER – THE HEART OF IT ALL – P. DOUGLAS SMALL – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ©
Genesis 12:7…
Through the centuries, family worship was the
norm. From Nead’s Theological Works (1850):
“Heads of families ought to observe prayers with their
families, mornings and evenings. This is generally termed
‘Family Worship.’”
Through the centuries, Christians have observed
morning and evening prayer.
Worship at the OT Tabernacle was a morning and
evening sacrifice of consecration.
Morning prayer tunes hearts to heaven.
Evening prayer commits the day to God, confessing
any sense of failure and conversely, celebrating some
God-moment in the day.
It allows us to enter the rest of God as we retire.

5. PRAYER – THE HEART OF IT ALL – P. DOUGLAS SMALL – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ©
One hundred and fifty years ago, family worship
was common.
Christian families prayed together, daily.
Home altars and worship centers were common.
Guests participated.
Worship consisted of Bible reading, prayer and
singing.
The family altar declared dependence on the invisible
guest of the home – God Himself. It said, “We are not
alone!”
On special occasions, prayer was offered.
In good times and bad, seasons of transition and
triumph, the family gathered to pray.
Whenever something good happened, they offered
prayerful thanks.
When danger threatened, they prayed.

6. PRAYER – THE HEART OF IT ALL – P. DOUGLAS SMALL – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ©
Changing Times…
Abraham was a sojourner, but he took his faith
and his altar with him wherever he traveled.
His tent was pitched on different turf, but his
altar anchored him to the same God.
Matthew Henry: “Abraham was a man of the
altar. Where ever he had a tent, God had an
altar…sanctified by prayer. He erected his own
altar that he might not participate with idolaters
in the worship offered upon theirs.”
The family altar differentiates us from the world.
It identifies our children with the precepts and
presence of God. It is a compass and an anchor.

7. PRAYER – THE HEART OF IT ALL – P. DOUGLAS SMALL – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ©
Changing Times…
In pre-modern times, the hearth where the food
was prepared was the focus of the home.
From it, the family was fed.
At it, the family was kept warm.
Out of it, light shone into the darkness.
Around it, in the evening after supper, the family
gathered for prayer.
The fireplace was a reflection of the ancient altar
which was always associated with fire.
In the 20th century, family worship began to
experience a marked decline.
Christian Education took place in the Sunday School.
Prayer and worship occurred at church.

8. PRAYER – THE HEART OF IT ALL – P. DOUGLAS SMALL – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ©
Changing Times…
As the industrial revolution intensified:
Fathers left the home for work in factories.
A strange view of men emerged in America.
Men were worldly, women were pure.
Men were breadwinners in the vile world; women kept
the hearth in the virtuous home.
Men traded their roles as spiritual leaders in the home
for providers outside the home.
Today, the home is often little more than a place
where we sleep and keep our stuff.
Many families do not share meals together.
Such practices do not create healthy families that
model biblical purpose.

9. PRAYER – THE HEART OF IT ALL – P. DOUGLAS SMALL – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ©
Renewing the Practice of the
Family Altar …
Without the family altar:
Christianity is in danger of becoming a “just-for-
Sunday” activity.
The family altar marks the home.
It invites conversation about the God we serve.
It centers us daily.
It defines who we are – a family belonging to and
representing God.
It differentiates us from world around us.
Many of our homes have nothing that marks us as
different from the non-practicing Christians next door.
Family altars reminds us: “We are the people of
God!” Prayer at it creates unforgettable
expressions that anchor us for a lifetime.

10. PRAYER – THE HEART OF IT ALL – P. DOUGLAS SMALL – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ©
The Feast Days – Faith
Celebrations…
The Passover –
Pointed to Christ the Lamb.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread –
Pointed to the need to purify our homes.
The Feast of the First Fruits –
The first sheaf of the spring harvest was raised
in the temple. So, Christ is the first fruit of the
resurrection.
The Feast of Pentecost –
Looked to the giving of the law and the coming
of the Holy Spirit.

11. PRAYER – THE HEART OF IT ALL – P. DOUGLAS SMALL – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ©
The Feast Days – Faith
Celebrations…
The Feast of Trumpets –
Looked forward to the return of Christ and the last day
events.
The Day of Atonement –
the Day of the Lord.
The Feast of Tabernacles –
Looks to the reign of God in the earth.
This is the eschatological calendar of God’s
work in a time-space world. What would it look
like for a family to use this annual calendar to
reinforce God’s redemptive story? To teach and
pray around each theme.

12. PRAYER – THE HEART OF IT ALL – P. DOUGLAS SMALL – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ©
The Feast Days – Faith
Celebrations…
Passover – Redemption. Salvation. The blood of
Christ, the Lamb. Protection. Deliverance.
Unleavened Bread – Purity of life and home.
Sin’s (leaven) effect. Separation from the world.
First Fruits – Christ, our resurrection. Being
raised in Christ. Eternal Life. Dying to self, living in
newness of life. New beginnings. Promise.
Pentecost – The coming of the Holy Spirit. Spirit-
fullness. The inner life of God. Inner truth.
Feast of Trumpets – Looking for the return of
Christ. Living with an eye toward the eastern sky.

13. PRAYER – THE HEART OF IT ALL – P. DOUGLAS SMALL – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ©
The Feast Days – Faith
Celebrations…
Atonement – Christ the atonement.
Gratitude for sins forgiven.
Recognizing the coming Day of Judgment.
Distinguishing the Judgment Seat of Christ from the
Great White Throne Judgment.
Feast of Tabernacles – Camping with God.
Looking forward to the Reign of Christ.
Knowing there is a life beyond this life.
Living with eternity in view.
Remembering and teaching our kids that we are a
pilgrim people, just passing through this world.

14. PRAYER – THE HEART OF IT ALL – P. DOUGLAS SMALL – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ©
Praying With and For Your Kids…
1. Praise God for His creation. Pray spontaneous
prayers of praise when nature’s beauty.
2. Point out answers to prayer and celebrate them.
3. Bless your children. When your child is hurting,
turn the situation into prayer time.
Invoke Numbers 6:24-26: “The LORD bless you
and keep you; the LORD make His face shine upon
you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn His
face toward you and give you peace.”
4. Teach your children about the armor of God.
5. Establish a family worship time.

15. PRAYER – THE HEART OF IT ALL – P. DOUGLAS SMALL – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ©
Praying With and For Your Kids…
6. Lace prayer into family gatherings.
7. Pray for people in need – on the spot.
8. Make Holidays – Holy Days.
9. Prayer-walk your neighborhood.
10. Pray for City and National Leaders.
11. Take your family to prayer events.
12. Keep a family prayer journal.
Record family answers to prayer. Significant spiritual
experiences. Promises of God. Make a place for each
child. Journal the spiritual experiences, even the
struggles and the prayers you pray. What a gift that will
make some day. Let your kids hear you bless them.

16. PRAYER – THE HEART OF IT ALL – P. DOUGLAS SMALL – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ©
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