The Family that Prays Together

Have you ever read Jeremiah through? I mean really read it and discussed it with your children?

In Jeremiah there is a classic story which shows us how the Bible was given and how it is accepted. Chapter 36 tells of God speaking to His prophet; instructing him to take a roll and write on it the words God gives him. Jeremiah has an assistant by the name of Baruch, who is his scribe. Baruch writes out what Jeremiah tells him. The rendering in the King James Bible is direct. It says “Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the Lord, which he had spoken unto him, upon a roll of a book.” (Jeremiah 36:4)

The story continues with Baruch being directed to read the writing ‘in the ears of the people.’ The climax comes when the princes, hearing the reading, tell Baruch to hide himself and Jeremiah, while they take the roll to go and read it to the king. Get your Bible out to find out what the king response was!

There are more good stories in Jeremiah. Have you read the one about the king, who for fear of ridicule, made a decision he knew would result in tragedy? The king is Zedekiah and the secret interview he had with the prophet Jeremiah is in chapter 38. Read Jeremiah’s pleading with the king to obey God and save the city from ruin. In that same chapter is the story of the kindness of an Ethiopian, who went to the king and asked permission to have Jeremiah pulled out of a miry pit. He lowered rotten rags down to Jeremiah and instructed him to put these under his arms so he wouldn’t get rope burn. In chapter 39, we read of God’s promise for good to the faithful Ethiopian.

We have just read these in our regular family worships.

Family worship is the opportunity to read your Bible together with your entire family.

Originally, God met in person with our foreparents in the garden in the cool of the day. After that, the worshippers of God assembled daily at the time of the evening and morning sacrifice. It is our privilege to worship God in our homes every evening and morning also.

In our home all the children can read. So, in our reading for the day, we all take turns.

Sometime ago we decided to read right through the Bible. We did skip the odd chapter which was a list of names or the telling of something that was inappropriate for children. Song of Solomon was one of those. (Parents, it is a good idea to read ahead privately! ) Otherwise we read right through. Some parts are naturally more interesting than others but, sharing the reading makes it easy to read even the less interesting portions.

We choose to read the King James version for a number of reasons. One of these is that when you get used to the thees and thous it is actually translated into simpler language than the others. What could be more easier to understand than “in the ears of the people”?

When the children were younger, we read to them. We chose, along with the hymns we wanted them to learn, child favourites like “Why worry when you can pray” and “With Jesus in the family” and taught them the hand actions that go along. They learned to kneel down and listen quietly to the prayer from before they could speak.

For us the day doesn’t really start until we have worship together. The day begins with seeking God’s blessing and committing ourselves to Him and it ends with gratitude for His mercies during the day past.

We have a fixed time for family worship. In our home it is before breakfast in the morning and after supper at night. These are set times. It is not a good idea to have worship when everyone is too tired to enjoy it. This special time doesn’t have to be long. Short and interesting is more beneficial. It’s a good idea to pray short, relevant prayers in family worship. Save the relatives and friends list for your private prayer time. My children enjoy our reading of a whole chapter for worship because they all get to have a turn. When they were only listening in previous years, we didn’t read so much.

When they were very young, we used pictures to illustrate what was being read or even drew stick drawings to give them something to focus on while listening.

In prayer time, we have taught the children not to slouch or lounge while kneeling. While reading, they have learned to speak distinctly and clearly. They have learned to follow in their own Bibles so that they are ready to read when it is their turn.

They love to choose favourite hymns to sing. The old hymns are so full of soul-inspiring messages.

“Father lead my day by day ever in Thine own sweet way; Teach me to be pure and true; Show me what I ought to do.”

This is a hymn that is frequently chosen for a morning worship. Scripture songs are another alternative that we enjoy.

Family worship is a time for the whole family. It is a time to get together with God every day. As a result the day goes better, the sleep is more restful and we are family that sticks together.