Family Devotions Dos and Don’ts

When I was a little girl, our family had a special bedtime tradition. My father read a story from a children’s version of the Bible. It was short and had a few questions to answer at the end. After the Bible time, we all knelt in a row, youngest to oldest, and prayed. We sang a little song called “Jesus Tender” that still brings me to tears when I hear it, and we were tucked into bed. Pretty idyllic, huh? I have wonderful memories of hearing each voice in our family of six praying.

When I had children of my own, I wanted to implement the same system. However … my husband was not in agreement. He was in the military, and his days were long and unpredictable. He was tired in the evenings and often had work to do in preparation for the next day. I found myself frustrated and short-tempered with him over this until I finally “let go” of my childhood ideal, and asked the Lord what would work in our own unique family.

We found the perfect answer! Dinner times. My husband, Ray, ate much faster than the girls and I. So, when he finished his meal, he would take out the Bible or sometimes a book like Pilgrim’s Progress, and read to us while we finished eating. Then, we prayed. My girls have great memories of their daddy reading at the table, and God was honored in our home through this novel approach.

Dear homeschooling mom, you already have a very full platter every day. I know how hard it is to fit in anything else at all. But let me encourage you, if it’s possible, set apart a short time each day for the whole family to worship together. The repetition of prayer and Bible reading as a family is a treasure you give your children that will last a lifetime.

DON’T …

• assume your family devotions must look like someone else’s.
• bully your husband into conformity with your own ideas.
• despair if you can’t do it as a family. If you have prayed and asked, rest in that.

DO …

• ask the Lord to help you and your husband find a system that works for you.
• keep it short and simple so you are more likely to actually do it. Long, complex systems are often neglected because they end up being too exhausting to maintain.
• invest in prayer time and Bible time yourself and with your children in any case. God will meet you in amazing ways as you come to Him!