Family Devotions
The very prospect of leading your family in devotions may give some of you a cold sweat. For others, it may seem like an unbearable burden. But teaching the faith at home needs to start with the faith being present in our home, not just passively, with a Bible on the bookshelf and a cross on the wall, but actively, on our minds, on our lips, and in our hearts.
Family devotions are a way that you can place the faith on the minds, lips, and hearts of your family. It doesn't have to be terribly complex. You don't need to have gone to Seminary. In fact, all you really need to be able to do is read, or possibly memorize.
In our family, we place our daily devotional time in the midst of our bedtime routine. For your family, it may work better around the kitchen table at breakfast or dinner time, or in the car when the daily dropping the kids at seven different sports takes place.
You also don't need an overabundance of time - I think our family devotions take an average of ten minutes.
As far as resources, I'd recommend a Bible, a Catechism, and a Hymnal. If you have small children, you may choose a children's Bible, Luther's Small Catechism, and something like CPH's My First Hymnal. Many of these resources can be found as E-books, or even available free on web sites. You can find audio of hymns all over the place, and you even can get Luther's Small Catechism set to music (which does wonders for kids to memorize the words of the catechism).
So what do devotions look like in our home? At the appointed bed time, we gather together, most often in our living room. We begin by praying together the Lord's Prayer. The repetition of doing this nightly aids the children in learning the prayer for themselves, so that they can pray the Lord's Prayer not just at bedtime, but also in the divine service.
After that, we sing a hymn. I normally allow each child to pick a favorite, which does often mean we sing the same hymn over and over again (my son loves to sing "Holy, Holy, Holy"). This gives the kids some agency in determining how our devotional life together proceeds.
Next typically comes a Bible story. We use multiple children's Bibles, including the Bibles the kids received at their baptisms. Typically, we just read one Bible story a night and work our way from cover to cover, and then start another Bible story.
Recently, we've begun to incorporate the text of Luther's Small Catechism in our devotions as well, sometimes alternating with the Bible story, sometimes alongside the Bible story. I will select one portion of the catechism and read ti to the kids, and then have the practice saying it with me. So far we've only worked on the commandments, but as the kids become more familiar with them, we will move to other parts of the catechism. At first, it is not vitally important that they understand the entirety of what these things mean. At this point, they are internalizing the words. Of course, if they have questions, that can lead into fruitful conversation.
Next, we proceed to sing another hymn. I have two children old enough to select hymns, so I typically will let the one who did not pick the first hymn select the second one.
After that, we all pray. Each child is given a chance to pray first. One of my children prays the same prayer every day. The other one does sometimes, and other times adds in different items. My wife and I will pray with the kids as well. I pray the same prayer each day, praying for each of the children and for their mother. I believe that the repetition helps the kids to internalize a prayerful disposition, basically learning this is how we pray. But, of course, one need not pray the same prayer each day, and always can adjust based on the circumstances at the time.
It is also worth noting, prayer with your family (or prayer at all) does not need to be overly dramatic or filled with great embellishments. Prayer is asking God "as dear children ask their dear father." Praying with your family gives you an opportunity to model that.
Our devotional time concludes with our family singing "Jesus Loves Me" together. Often we will dance and laugh together as we do so, rejoicing in God's love for us shown forth by His Son, This is a custom our family adopted - you may choose to sing a different hymn to conclude your devotional time together.
Or, of course, you may choose to structure devotional time completely differently. That is certainly fine. But if you consistently devote time together as your family to be in the Word of God and to go before Him in prayer, I am convinced you and your family will be blessed for it, both now and for a long time to come. It is never too late to start!
Family devotions are a way that you can place the faith on the minds, lips, and hearts of your family. It doesn't have to be terribly complex. You don't need to have gone to Seminary. In fact, all you really need to be able to do is read, or possibly memorize.
In our family, we place our daily devotional time in the midst of our bedtime routine. For your family, it may work better around the kitchen table at breakfast or dinner time, or in the car when the daily dropping the kids at seven different sports takes place.
You also don't need an overabundance of time - I think our family devotions take an average of ten minutes.
As far as resources, I'd recommend a Bible, a Catechism, and a Hymnal. If you have small children, you may choose a children's Bible, Luther's Small Catechism, and something like CPH's My First Hymnal. Many of these resources can be found as E-books, or even available free on web sites. You can find audio of hymns all over the place, and you even can get Luther's Small Catechism set to music (which does wonders for kids to memorize the words of the catechism).
So what do devotions look like in our home? At the appointed bed time, we gather together, most often in our living room. We begin by praying together the Lord's Prayer. The repetition of doing this nightly aids the children in learning the prayer for themselves, so that they can pray the Lord's Prayer not just at bedtime, but also in the divine service.
After that, we sing a hymn. I normally allow each child to pick a favorite, which does often mean we sing the same hymn over and over again (my son loves to sing "Holy, Holy, Holy"). This gives the kids some agency in determining how our devotional life together proceeds.
Next typically comes a Bible story. We use multiple children's Bibles, including the Bibles the kids received at their baptisms. Typically, we just read one Bible story a night and work our way from cover to cover, and then start another Bible story.
Recently, we've begun to incorporate the text of Luther's Small Catechism in our devotions as well, sometimes alternating with the Bible story, sometimes alongside the Bible story. I will select one portion of the catechism and read ti to the kids, and then have the practice saying it with me. So far we've only worked on the commandments, but as the kids become more familiar with them, we will move to other parts of the catechism. At first, it is not vitally important that they understand the entirety of what these things mean. At this point, they are internalizing the words. Of course, if they have questions, that can lead into fruitful conversation.
Next, we proceed to sing another hymn. I have two children old enough to select hymns, so I typically will let the one who did not pick the first hymn select the second one.
After that, we all pray. Each child is given a chance to pray first. One of my children prays the same prayer every day. The other one does sometimes, and other times adds in different items. My wife and I will pray with the kids as well. I pray the same prayer each day, praying for each of the children and for their mother. I believe that the repetition helps the kids to internalize a prayerful disposition, basically learning this is how we pray. But, of course, one need not pray the same prayer each day, and always can adjust based on the circumstances at the time.
It is also worth noting, prayer with your family (or prayer at all) does not need to be overly dramatic or filled with great embellishments. Prayer is asking God "as dear children ask their dear father." Praying with your family gives you an opportunity to model that.
Our devotional time concludes with our family singing "Jesus Loves Me" together. Often we will dance and laugh together as we do so, rejoicing in God's love for us shown forth by His Son, This is a custom our family adopted - you may choose to sing a different hymn to conclude your devotional time together.
Or, of course, you may choose to structure devotional time completely differently. That is certainly fine. But if you consistently devote time together as your family to be in the Word of God and to go before Him in prayer, I am convinced you and your family will be blessed for it, both now and for a long time to come. It is never too late to start!
Comments
Post a Comment