Most Advent plans are reading plans. A verse a day, a candle a week, a devotional that is wonderful on December 1 and forgotten by December 9.
This one is different. It is a praying plan, and the unit is a person, not a passage. Each day from December 1 to 24, your family prays for one named person. By Christmas Eve you have prayed, together, for 24 people who matter to you, and most of them will have found out.
How it works
- Make the list. Sit down as a family in late November and name 24 people. Grandparents, a teacher, the neighbour who is alone, a coach, a friend going through something, the pastor, the mail carrier. Kids are good at this. Let them fill half the list.
- Put it where you eat. On the fridge, one name per day. The printable list at the bottom of this post has the days already laid out.
- Pray at the table. Thirty seconds at dinner. Whoever is youngest reads the name. Everyone says one sentence. That is the whole practice.
- Tell the person. This is the part most families skip, and it is the best part. A text that says "We prayed for you at dinner tonight" lands harder than any card.
The list, with room to breathe
Twenty-four names is a lot. A few ways to fill the gaps without padding:
- Week one: family. The people you see every day, and the ones you only see at Christmas.
- Week two: the people who serve you. Teachers, coaches, doctors, the church staff, the people at the store.
- Week three: the hard ones. Someone grieving, someone sick, someone your kids have a hard time with. Pray for them by name anyway. Children learn more from this week than any other.
- The last three days: people you do not know. A missionary your church supports. The family that will be in the emergency room on Christmas Day. Whoever is reading this with no family at the table.
The band on the wrist
The plan falls apart when it is forgotten, and dinner is the one time it is easy to forget. A band on each wrist solves it.
A prayer band is a silicone band with a verse on it and a chip inside. Every person in the family wears one through Advent. At dinner, the youngest taps theirs, the family's prayer page opens, and the day's name is there. Each of you taps Pray. The count goes up.
Two things make this better than a paper list:
- The person can see it. If the day's person has a band too, you can pray over their band instead. They open it and find that your family prayed. If they do not, send them the text.
- It survives December. On December 26 the band is still on. The list is still in the phone. Families who do this tend to keep going into January, one name a week instead of one a day.
A note for small children
Keep it to one sentence each. "God, please help Grandma's knee." That is a complete prayer, and a four-year-old can own it. Resist the urge to improve it.
The printable list
Copy this into a note or print it. Fill in the names in late November.
| Day | Who | Day | Who |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 1 | Dec 13 | ||
| Dec 2 | Dec 14 | ||
| Dec 3 | Dec 15 | ||
| Dec 4 | Dec 16 | ||
| Dec 5 | Dec 17 | ||
| Dec 6 | Dec 18 | ||
| Dec 7 | Dec 19 | ||
| Dec 8 | Dec 20 | ||
| Dec 9 | Dec 21 | ||
| Dec 10 | Dec 22 | ||
| Dec 11 | Dec 23 | ||
| Dec 12 | Dec 24 |
Bands for the family
Bands come in sizes from small to large, in solid colors and themed designs, in the store. A family of five is one order with free shipping over $35. Add each person's name at checkout and the band opens to it. If you want them under the tree, order by early December for standard bands; custom engraved bands take four to six weeks.
Looking for the gift side of Christmas? Christian Christmas Gifts for Men Who Say They Don't Want Anything and Christian Stocking Stuffers Under $15 cover it.