The Importance of Family Devotion
This post was featured in this month's "Gospel View" newsletter. This is a monthly newsletter published the first Sunday of every month at Tammany View Baptist Church.
Family devotion time is one of the most difficult yet most necessary practices of our faith that we should maintain in our lives. You don’t have to tell me life is crazy and there’s no time. I totally get it. Talor and I almost never go in to work at the same time in the mornings. If I don’t have to wake up as early as she does, there’s no way you’re going to be able to get me out of bed before I have to get up. I need my sleep. The reality of this situation and many others is that our family time of prayer and reading the Bible is far more important than thirty extra minutes of sleep or whatever else we allow ourselves to prioritize over our family’s spiritual well-being.
Talor and I need desperately to work together toward planning to spend time in God’s word and praying together on a daily basis. I’m sure you could use a little boost in this area as well. The truth is none of us practice family devotion time on a level that we can say we have “arrived.” All of us can always strive toward a higher goal of consistency and intimacy with God and one another during this time.
I recently read an article* that provides six points that will help us be able to start a family devotion time of our own. These six concepts are consistency, variety, a sense of humor, tools, preparation, and faith. Each of these components will help us move toward a better and more consistent time of family devotion. The great thing about family devotion time is that no two family devotions will ever be exactly alike. Your family will do things much different than mine – and that is a beautiful thing! Reading the Bible and prayer (and sometimes singing) are the basic elements of family devotion, but other than these you can structure your family’s time of devotion in a completely unique way.
If you’re reading this, you may be thinking that you have missed your opportunity for a God-honoring time of family devotion because these days your grandkids are having kids. Or you might be in the same situation as Talor and I where we don’t have kids yet. Even still you may be single or still living with your parents or any other number of life stages. The truth is no one is at a point in life where we can’t start having a time of family devotion that builds our relationship with our families and with God. Sit down with your family and talk with them (even if it’s just you and your spouse or you talking with your parents) about starting a time of family devotion as a whole. Our quiet time with God should be consistent and intimate. Sharing this time with our family is one way we can grow our spiritual maturity as well as the maturity of our children and spouses.
* For more on the “Starting a Family Devotion Time” article mentioned go HERE
- Additional information on family devotion can be read HERE
