Our family’s “21 Days of Prayer”… that never ended

Hannah Wong
1d
3 min read

Our church began the year with something beautiful —21 days of prayer and fasting.

Starting January, every weekday morning at 7:00, people gathered at church or joined online to pray together.

I loved the idea. I loved the intention. I loved the invitation.

But if I’m honest…our family schedule looks nothing like quiet mornings at church.

It looks more like this: Alarm at 6:00. Lay in bed ten more minutes. Wake kids one by one. Breakfast. Let dogs out. Pack backpacks. Look for missing socks. And somehow —we’re pulling out of the driveway at 6:55 to get Olivia to leadership door duty by 7:05.

Not exactly peaceful prayer time. But somewhere around January 5th, when school started again, something small began. Not at church. Not in silence. Not in stillness. In the car.

Our version of 21 days of prayer

(…which is now almost March, so we clearly need a new name)

It started simply. I would turn on my Jesus playlist. We’d start driving. And I’d ask: “Does anyone have prayer requests today?”Then I’d turn the music down —and we would pray.

Right there in the car.

What we pray on the way to school

We pray for:

friends who need friends
teachers who need help
protection over their school
chances to be kind
courage to include others
opportunities to help
opportunities to pray for someone

Then, I thank God for letting us be His hands and feet. For sending us into places that need light.

Some days, our prayers are more focus and more honest.

“God, I’m sorry I was cranky this morning.”

“Help me be more patient.”

And some mornings, when I’m just tired…we simply notice what’s outside the car window and say thank you.

When the Spirit shows up in the car

Overtime, they started praying too. Sometimes one of them begins. Sometimes we take turns. I even noticed that their prayers have grown with them. Once where they were timid to pray aloud, they are bold and beautiful.

Even I will be praying and words come out of me that feel deeper than anything I planned to say.

And I know. That’s not me. That’s the Spirit.

So I slide my purse off the passenger seat like I’m making room and whisper inside: You’re always welcome to ride along with us.

“Where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” — Matthew 18:20

Apparently, that includes in the car on the way to school.

The reset we didn’t know we needed

Some mornings start with tension. Buttons pushed. Tears over spilled milk. Sharp words. Rushed voices. I’m sure the neighbors have heard it all. But then we get in the car. And we all know what’s coming. Music. Prayer requests. Talking to God together. And it’s like a reset button for our hearts. Peace returns. Perspective returns. We remember who we belong to.

“In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice.” — Psalm 5:3

Even if that morning includes filling waterbottles and finding missing socks.

When prayer becomes routine life

These drives have become sacred to us. Our music. Our prayers. Our conversations.

They set the tone for our day. And what started as “21 days of prayer” has quietly become something more: a family rhythm of noticing God in ordinary mornings.

If your mornings don’t look quiet either

Maybe prayer in your home doesn’t look like folded hands at dawn.

Maybe it looks like:

finding missing folders
last minute test corrections
missing class shirts
groupme texts reminders

That still counts. It always counted. Because prayer was never meant to live only in sanctuaries. It lives in cars. Kitchens. Hallways. Driveways. Right in the middle of real life.

Want to try car-ride prayer?

You can start exactly where we did:

Play worship music
Ask: “Any prayer requests today?”
Turn the music down.
Pray simply.
Invite kids to pray if they want.

That’s it. No perfection required. No schedule needed. No church building necessary. Just presence.

Our morning playlist

If you’d like to listen to the same music we use on our drives,I’ve shared our family Jesus playlist on the Little Pilgrim music resource page. You’re welcome to borrow our car-ride worship anytime.

Little Pilgrim Car Ride Playlist

Little Pilgrim Closing Prayer

Lord,

Meet us in our mornings

—not the quiet ones we imagine,

but the real ones we live.

In backpacks and barking dogs,

in rushed goodbyes and car rides,

in tired parents and growing children—be present.

Let our cars become small sanctuaries.

Let our words become prayers.

Let our children become light.

Teach us to notice You

in ordinary routines

and crowded schedules.

Ride with us today.

And help us carry You

into every place we go.

Amen.