Now, you may be thinking, "Oh no, not family devotions!"
Maybe you have tried them before, but it just didn't work. Maybe the little ones got bored in three minutes and the teenagers were resentful for a week. So you wanted to forget the whole thing!
Playing Church
Family devotions can be a wonderful time if you handle them right, but some people think family devotions are getting together at home to play church. That gives Mom and Dad a great chance to preach at the kids.
But that isn't how it should be. Your goal is not to train up "religious" kids, but kids who have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Family devotions teach your children that God is important—so important that you set aside a time each day just to be with Him, to talk with Him and to learn of Him from His Word. Your children can sense the relationship you have with God.
Even though Buddy's work schedule didn't follow the normal eight to five pattern, we made it a family priority to have devotions every morning. Sometimes everyone would just barely drag themselves down the stairs because they were so sleepy.
Once everyone was there, Buddy would read from the Word, share a little bit, then have everybody pray in English about whatever they had on their heart.
Then Buddy would wind it up by having everybody pray in the Holy Spirit.
Share Your Love For God
Your family devotions should grow naturally out of your own love for God and His Word as you share that love and joy with your family. Remember, devotions don't have to be long and boring. You can make them short, interesting and fun!
Also, remember what the passage in Deuteronomy 6 says. First, God said, "These words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart" (v.6). Then He said, "Thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children" (v.7).
That's why you first have to personally know God and His Word, so you can share that knowledge with your children.
You don't have to be a Bible scholar or have all the answers before you can have devotions with your family. But you can't share the joy of salvation and of serving God with them if you haven't experienced it yourself.
You can't teach them to trust God if you aren't learning to trust Him yourself.
Share Your Struggles
Having devotions gives you the opportunity to let your kids share in your own spiritual struggles, and you can share in theirs. You can talk together about different things in your life: the problems you are having, the things God has shown you in the past and the joy you know by serving Him. And you can pray for each other.
When you pray, don't try to sound like a seminary professor. Just pray simple, honest prayers in your own words about your own needs. It does our kids good to hear us confess our needs, our failures and our hurts to God, and then to hear us praise Him for His answers and provisions.
You can also show your children how special they are to you by taking their needs and concerns to God in prayer. Sometimes parents can think their children's worries as too trivial to pray about. These things may seem unimportant to you, but they are extremely important to your kids.
Talk To God
One of the greatest things you can do for them is pray for them. When they hear you speak their names and talk to God about their personal problems, they will never forget it.
You know the old saying: "The family that prays together stays together." There is something about confessing our needs to one another and praying for one another that binds us together and helps us love each other more.
You can do lots of things to make your family devotions meaningful and fun. But remember, there is no ironclad rule that says you must have them a certain way at a certain time. Work out the time and way that is best for your family, according to their needs.
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers