Family Devotions
From the book “Passing the Torch” by
Tony Rorie
Core Values are Demonstrated by our Traditions
I went to a men’s conference where the speaker, Dr.
Tony Evans was teaching about Psalm 128. In this Psalm, a Godly family pattern
was being described. It said:
"How joyful are those who fear the LORD— All who
follow his ways. You will enjoy the fruit of your labor. How joyful and
prosperous you will be! Your wife will be like a fruitful grapevine,
flourishing within your home.
Your children will be like vigorous young olive
trees as they sit around your table. That is the LORD’s blessing
for those who fear
him." (Psalm 128:1-4)
As he was describing our children flourishing
around our table like olive trees, it occurred to me that I didn’t even own a
table! Any meals that were eaten in my house were generally in the living room,
in front of the television. I was immediately convicted and decided to go and
buy my family a table to have meals together and provide an atmosphere where I
could pour into them and hear their struggles. We would also, from time to
time, hold family meetings at that table and discuss everything from family
crisis and problems, to planning family vacations together.
The results were notable. Lots of great time spent
together. I will never regret that decision to buy the table. A family
tradition of shared meals was born that day.
Another notable tradition that we have placed in
our home is the family devotion.
Family Devotion
One evening while attending a church service, the
guest speaker asked the audience a question, “How many of you have a regularly
scheduled weekly time with your family where you study God’s word, worship
together, and pray for one another as a family. Out of a crowd of 500, only 3
or so raised their hands. I was not able to raise my hand. I knew the value of
a family devotional time. I had even made attempts in the past to get us
together and do this. Sure, we read the Bible at times, prayed at times, but I
had never been intentional about setting a set night of the week for us, as a
family, to grow together in the Lord.
I was convicted again.
That night, I decided that I would “take the bull
by the horns.” I discussed with my wife that, from this point forward, every
Monday night should be our set family night devotional. She agreed.
The first Monday rolled around and the
opportunities to do something else appeared from every direction. But we said
"no" to those things and “yes” to our family. We first had dinner
together as a family-at our table. Then after dinner, we moved into the living
room. My son brought out the guitar and led us in two songs. The girls sang and
it sounded like angels in our house. After the worship time, we all took our
Bibles and I instructed first my oldest daughter, then my middle son, and then
my youngest daughter to read a different chapter from the Bible. I didn’t put a
lot of thought into a theme or where to read, just reading any part was good,
and sometimes they seemed to follow a common thread, imagine that.
When we finished the worship and Bible reading, it
came time to pray. I began the prayer by praying out loud for my wife. I prayed
for her upcoming week and anything else that came to mind. I thanked God for
giving me such a Godly, wonderful wife. Then I prayed for each of my children
individually, asking God to bless and protect them this upcoming week, along
with praying for anything else that came to mind that they might need. Then, it
was my wife’s turn to pray. She prayed for me, then anything else that came to
mind. Then each of my children prayed, starting from the oldest, and working
their way down, for whatever was on their heart. By the time we finished
praying, we felt closer to God and closer as a family. Then we ate dessert
together. This has helped us stay connected and growing as a family. We even
started inviting other families over to teach them how to have a family
devotional.
“Passing the Torch” is available at
www.tonyrorie.com
1 comment:
happy anniversary di and jiju
happy marriage anniversary di and jiju
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