Family Devotions
Bringing up your children in the love of God.
1. As a child of a missionary family, I remember that we had family devotions every night. When I was very young I looked forward to those devotions. They were the highlight of the day. One night, when I was four years old, my mother gathered us together and began reviewing the Sunday school lessons with us. She had saved them all in a notebook. She read the story of creation, then Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, The Flood, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. I think she read until she was exhausted. Each time she finished one story we shouted for another. At last she said, "Enough! It's after 10:00 o'clock!" But she knew something special was happening that night. She was sensitive to the Holy Spirit. As she tucked each one of us into bed, she asked if we would like to be Christian. I said, 'No! I want to be a believer, like Joseph." My mother explained to me that's what real Christians are, and then we prayed together. Jesus took control of my life then and there. Right away I received God's love, and His Holy Spirit power. I was no longer afraid of the dark, and I have not been afraid of anything since then. And now I am, myself, a missionary. Yes, mom, your witness to your children is powerful.
2. All through my growing up years we continued to have family devotions. When I became a teenager, I was not tempted to be popular. My ambition was to witness Christ. I was not tempted by evil. I had been raised at Jesus' feet. If ever there was a Christian mother, it was my mother.
3. After we entered grade school my dad took over the duty of leading family devotions. The Bible tells us to bring up our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. This responsibility is laid at the feet of the FATHERS. They are supposed to be the spiritual leaders of the household.
And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. Ephesians 6:4
note: If, for some reason, the father cannot do this, the mother must take his place. For example; sometimes the children of divorce do not accept a stepfather as a real parent. Or sometimes, they would just rather have their mother do the devotions. A lot of times this happens if the children are older than four or five when the step parent comes into the family.
4. God chose to make the first covenant of faith with Abraham specifically because He knew that Abraham would teach his children.
For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him. Gen 18:19
5. If we fail to teach our children, we will get exactly what we deserve - a lawless nation that does not know God. We must train them while they are young. Bringing them up in the nurture of the Lord begins when they are infants - before they can walk. As the Bible says...
Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6
note: "Spare the rod and spoil the child" does not mean clobber the kid with sticks. It means train him up in the way he should go. The rod is the rod of Psalm 23. Thy rod, and Thy staff comfort me. Never spank in anger, and if you must spank, do not use your hand or your children will grow up afraid of you. Use a rolled up sports section of your newspaper - or don't spank at all. Most experts recommend that you don't spank children once they are above the age of seven. There are other forms of discipline that are more effective. Grounding is good.
6. Children are the keenest observers in the world. They learn by everything you do or say. God made them that way. Can you look in a mirror and say, "I want my son to be just like me?" Your children will know if you are following Christ or not, and that will make the deepest impression on them. When they get to be teenagers, they may want to know - do you have personal devotions? How do you do it? They will want to have personal devotions of their own.
7. Adam and Eve walked with God in the cool of the evening. I think that is the best time for family devotions. We used to have our family devotions at the dinner table. But I think it's better to go into the living room. Another good time for family devotions is just before bedtime.
8. For family devotions with small children I recommend "Little Visits with God" put out by Concordia Publishing House. For older children I recommend some kind of discussion. There are some good exercises that are fun. One is to rewrite a Bible verse in your own words making every attempt to keep the same meaning - and then discuss what each one has written. Another good exercise is to turn the Bible verses into prayers for people. Whenever you read the Bible the question is always, "What is the Holy Spirit saying to me, personally?" If a certain verse jumps out at you, the Holy Spirit is speaking to you. Memorize that verse, then let the Holy Spirit minister that verse to your heart.
9. Prayer needs to be a part of every families' devotions. This saying is true, "The family that prays together, stays together."
10. Worshiping together may be a little bit more difficult; especially if no one can sing, or play a musical instrument. But try anyway. My wife plays the piano, and I play the drums. We can actually make beautiful music together. We both like the old hymns.
11. Sometimes the children may feel awkward singing songs. They may not want to participate, but they can still see, and hear, and know what the parents are doing, and believe me, they like it. Every child feels better, and safer, knowing that his parents are walking with the Lord.
12. There is also this one thing you must remember... Pray with each one of your children individually. They are individuals, and each one is has his own special needs
13. There was a man who had family devotions with his wife and children every night. And every night as they gathered together, they prayed for missionaries all over the world. One of the boys form that family grew up to be the greatest missionary of the twentieth century, (or any century for that matter). He was Cameron Townsend, the founder of Wycliffe Bible Translators. He had learned to see the world as God sees it from his dad - who sold vegetables!
14. Jonathan Edwards was the leader of the great New England revival. Once, when I was in Pennsylvania, I met one of his great, great, great, great, great, great, great, grand daughters. She said that Jonathan Edwards used to walk as he prayed. He always walked to a small stream where he would kneel and pray that all of his descendants after him would love and serve the Lord forever. She told me that as far as she could find out, all of Jonathan Edwards' children, and their children to the seventh generation, loved and served the Lord.
...return to the Lord your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul...
And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lore your God, with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. Deuteronomy 30:2 & 6