You've probably heard it said before, a family that prays together stays together. What a privilege it is to be able to connect with our creator. To speak to the one who spoke us into existence and know that he's interested in what we have to say.
What about God's unfailing word? To be able to read a book of love letters that speak of our creator God that pursued us to the death. The death of His own son. What a love story, doesn't that just blow your mind!
Now what do you suppose God feels when we come as a family unit, under his covering, and seek him out through prayer and his word? I think it's probably pretty special to Him.
I love this scripture an it's comparison...
Psalm 1: 1-3
Blessed is the one...
whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.
When I think of a close strong family this is what I imagine... a family that isn't uprooted during turbulent times but its roots are firm into a solid foundation receiving what it needs to thrive. The same way a tree is bound to have a storm come up against it, families are bound to face trials.
So how are your family's roots? Are they planted firmly and being well nourished? Or are they dehydrating and withering?
Spiritual nourishment is found in devotion.
A family devoted to God:
Puts him first.
Acknowledges who's the real boss of the home.
Makes decisions after seeking The Lord's guidance
Cultivates a home based on the laws of the Lord
They know their joy is in The Lord and
Renew their strength in Him.
And when the storms come they are ready to face them.
Confession. We don't always live there. We want to, but at times we fail. So what do we do? We get back down (on our knees that is) and try again.
Family devotions are a great way to get your family staying connected to God through his word as well as through prayer. They are also as unique as well... families!
We've done them at the start of our day, the end of our day, during the day and we've never been disappointed. Whatever the time, God meets us. And our days and nights are more peaceful.
We change the format of what we do, from time to time, to keep it from becoming routine. Here are some ideas of what we've done:
Used devo books to guide us in keeping it interesting for the kids.
Read a chapter of the bible and discussed it.
Listened to a dramatized audio version and discuss it at the end.
Let the kids read scripture verses and allowed them to give a little
message on how they would apply it to their lives. (This one gets
interesting and a lot of discussion comes out of it)
We also like to add praise time into our devos. We sing songs we know from memory, use video tracks or the kids play the piano and guitar and we all sing along.
Devos can be done anywhere. In the family room, around the kitchen table, or outside under the stars. The choice is yours...get creative!
By connecting to the Lord and submitting ourselves to Him, we draw closer together as a family. We experience ah-ha moments as we uncover God's truth for ourselves both individually and as a family.
Family devotionals can never be replaced by church programs or school teachings. As parents we have a God-given responsibility to train a child in the way he should go... Proverbs 22:6
AWESOME!!!
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