4. Suggestions of plans.—­There are given below seven outlines of plans of worship.  They are plans which have been in use and have been tried for years.  Their only merit is simplicity and practicability; but they are at least worthy of trial.  There is no special significance in the arrangement of the days and this may be changed in any way desirable.  Further, all plans should be elastic; there will come special days, such as festivals and birthdays, when the program should be varied.  For example, on a birthday the child whose anniversary then occurs should have the privilege of making the choice of recitation or reading or of determining the order of all the parts of this brief period of worship.

     MONDAY

     1.  A short psalm repeated in concert.

     2.  A brief, informal petition by father or mother.

     3.  The Lord’s Prayer, in which all join.

Before attempting even this simple plan, prepare for it by first selecting several suitable psalms.  The following should be included:  the 1st, 19th, 23d, 24th, 100th, 117th, 121st, and a part of the 103d.  You would do well to memorize one of these yourself, so as to be able to lead without reading from the book.  Next, think over with some care the things for which you may pray, the aspirations which your children can share with you.  Few things are more difficult than this, so to pray that all can make the prayer their own.  Let it also be a prayer of love and joy, not a craven begging off from punishments, nor a cowardly plea for protection and provision.  We can pray over all these things with gratitude and with confidence toward the God of love.  Do not try to preach in your prayers.  Many prayers have been ruined by preaching, just as some preaching has been spoiled by praying to the people.  Usually four or five sentences will do for the one day.  Better a single thought simply expressed than the most brilliant attempt to inform the Almighty on all the events of the world that day.

A prayer in which all can join is always desirable.  The Lord’s Prayer never wearies us nor grows old.  Children enter into it with some new meaning every day; it covers all our great, common, daily needs.

     TUESDAY

     1.  A few favorite memory verses repeated by all (from either the
     Bible or other literature).

     2.  Read a very brief passage from the Bible.

     3.  Prayer, ending with the Lord’s Prayer.

Many excellent selections will be found in Dr. Dole’s book mentioned at the end of this chapter.  Encourage children, however, to make their selections from the poems and passages they already know.

The passage of the Bible selected to be read should be one which first of all incites to worship, and should be chosen for its inspiration and literary beauty.  A few lines from the great chapters of Isaiah (e.g., chaps. 35 and 55), from