When I was a kid, our family never had a specific area of our home to gather together for prayer and reflection. We had religious pictures, statues, and crucifixes peppered throughout the house, but never a place where one could retreat into his inner sanctuary for some quiet time with God.

In our early years of marriage, Ben and I toyed with the idea of creating a prayer space, but it never materialized. We had children, and “things” piled up in the room we imagined as our clutter-free zone set aside for reading scripture and lighting the candles on the Advent wreath.

Before we moved to our newish home in 2017, Ben and I committed to designating a portion of our home to prayer. It would be, for us, where we’d come together as a family – no matter what kind of hectic day we’d had – to give God thanks, to calm our noisy thoughts, and to pray together for what was important to us.

Here are some ways that concept became a reality for us. I share them with you, because I believe that sacred space in our humble abodes is so vital to our spiritual wellbeing. In this modern era, we are fighting against the culture that is constantly dividing families and creating facades through technology for us to hide behind. It’s rare for children and parents to actually sit down in one room – at the same time – to even share a meal these days.

Yet empirical research indicates that families who eat at least one meal per day together three times a week or more have children who are less promiscuous, achieve higher academic scores, and make fewer destructive decisions. They’re also more likely to engage in honest conversation about their lives than the families who don’t do this.

Given this reality, why not create a holy ambiance in the home, too? This could be your refuge – an area where you can sit, rest, collect your thoughts, pour your heart out to Jesus, and set aside time to remember what is important. I believe prayer space in the home brings immense consolation, comfort, and strength to families who are in dire need of supernatural assistance, now more than ever before.

Collect Your Religious Items

These can be icons, framed pictures, crucifixes, statues, holy water, relics, rosaries, etc. You’ll want to assess what you already have and what you’d like to add. This will depend largely on the amount of space you can actually use for your prayer corner. We knew we had plenty of statues, icons, and framed images, but we wanted to add a holy water font and bookcases where we could include tomes that would enrich our souls in a deeper way.

You might want to consider the spiritual and developmental needs of your children, too. For example, our oldest daughter, Felicity, has particular books on the saints and prayer books she likes to access on her own time. We keep those in a handy and visible location in our prayer room. Sarah, our middle child, likes different rosaries, so we have a large ceramic bowl filled with rosaries of different textures and colors that she can use. Finally, Veronica is just past one year old, and she has board books about the saints, Our Lady, and the Bible on a very low shelf of our bookcase that she can easily access.

Gathering what you will include is an important first step in making your idea come to fruition.

Decide What Section of Your Home to Use

If your home is already filled to the brim, you’ll probably have to make a draft on paper of slightly rearranging furniture and décor. In order to make this a sacred space you’ll actually use, it’s best to include comfortable seating, a table with lighting, and a place where you can put the books you use on a regular basis (e.g., Bible, liturgical companion, devotional) and rosaries for easy access.

This was simple for my family, because we chose to create a prayer space as soon as we moved into our new home last year. We didn’t have to redecorate or eliminate anything, because we were working with a blank canvas. For most people, however, this isn’t going to be the case. That’s why it’s important to sit down as a family and draw up a blueprint after you peruse the house for your ideal spot.