Needing Help with Praying?

This morning I woke up and wanted to pray - but my tongue seemed tied. You know when you want to say something, but can't seem to find the right words?

Well, you may not have that problem - but if you do, I have come across a wonderful tool to assist you. Especially in your prayer life. There is a wonderful and helpful book entitled: 'The Valley of Vision" 'A collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions'. Click HERE and you can order yourself a copy.

This is the prayer I audibly prayed this morning:

O Thou that hearest my prayer,
Teach me to pray,

I confess that in religious exercises
the language of my lips and the feelings of my heart
have not always agreed,
that I have frequently taken carelessly upon my tongue
a name never pronounced above without reverence and
humility,
that I have often desired things which would have injured me,
that I have depreciated some of my chief mercies,
that I have erred both on the side of my hopes and also of my
fears,
that I am unfit to choose for myself,
for it is not in me to direct my steps.

Let thy Spirit help my infirmities,
for I know not what to pray for as I ought.

Let him produce in me wise desires by which I may ask right things,
then I shall know thou hearest me.

May I never be importunate for temporal blessings,
but always refer them to thy fatherly goodness,
for thou knowest what I need before I ask;

May I never think I prosper unless my soul prospers,
or that I am rich unless rich toward thee,
or that I am wise unless wise unto salvation.

May I seek first thy kingdom and its righteousness.

May I value things in relation to eternity.

May my spiritual welfare be my chief solicitude.
May I be poor, afflicted, despised and have thy blessing,
rather than be successful in enterprise,
or have more than my heart can wish,
or be admired by my fellow-men,
if thereby these things make me forget thee.

May I regard the world as dreams, lies, vanities, vexation of spirit,
and desire to depart from it.

And may I see my happiness in thy favour, image, presence, service.

In Jesus' name, AMEN!

Another Idea 4 Dads Leading Devotions

From yesterday's post, let me give you a few more idea's on serving your family by way of devotions.

Now sometimes, I am not able to lead the family in devotions every day. However it is still my responsibility to ensure that this spiritual discipline or practice takes place. Let's face it, things come up that are outside of our control, so there ought to be a way in which our children are learning to have their own times with the Lord and learning.

Here is what we do. I will provide or suggest some things for my children to read & then ask them to write down words they don't understand. Then when I return home, or when mum can sit with them at some stage, we discuss words and understandings of the passage. So for example, Abigail, my oldest girl, loves Psalms 23. The reason she loves it is because she reads it, and re-reads it. Caleb, my oldest, loves to read everything and anything. So he likes challenges. So when he reads Judges or 1 Chronicles, he is invigorated by the account of history and war. He loves trying to pronounce the names & piecing together where they belong in the story of the Bible. Yes, he is 10! I was not that inspired at his age, but we are running with it, while he likes it.

This works well when mum has a Dr.'s appointment or has to go out first thing, and you have a busy schedule, and the demands of the day are not allowing you to all sit together to do devotions. This also works when family members are sick & in bed too.

Here is another scenario. What if you are a dad who has to travel alot and work keeps you from doing daily devotions with your family? *** NOTE*** please know this takes time to develop but it is possible to execute. Or it may be an idea for something you can aim to put into practice. It will do your son or daughter a world of good.

So this is what I have done. I have asked my oldest son Caleb, when I am away for a night or a few days, to lead the family in devotions. I will usually provide him with some suggestions in what he can read with the family. Another thing I have done is given him a simple challenge. Here is one task I have given him. I provided him a memory verse and say that if he can get everyone to memorize it by the time I get home, I will have a reward for everyone.

You may ask, where is his mum? Of course mum is present with an observing and encouraging eye. Mum oversees and encourages her boy to lead well. I must tell you, there is an undescribeable joy when your wife reports that your boy is taking delight in leading the family, and doing it well.

If you have all girls, encourage mum to lead them and model for them what it is to study the Bible, but it still is your responsibility dad, to lead mum in the training of your children in godliness and holiness.

I hope you find these ideas helpful. I am not an expert, but enjoy trying to bring out the best in my family... hoping they will stand before our Savior one day, giving gratitude to the Lord for their Salvation, through Jesus Christ.

Dad's Doing Devotions!

Doesn't your back tighten up when someone tells you to do something? I can get that way. But after I settle down, I can handle it better, when someone provides me with some direction on how to do what they are suggesting.

As dad's I think it is often encouraged that we do devotions with our families, or that we should be leading our families in devotions. But sometimes, we don't know what that looks like.

Let me encourage you with what I do. Not that I am an expert, but I find it helpful to hear of how others do it & then I can have a go. So for me, I get a devotional and the bible and find a quiet place for the kids to sit down. We have six! All of us, oldest to youngest, go to the lounge area and sit down. I then start with this devotional story. As I am reading the story I ask lots of questions throughout the story to insure that the kids are listening. I also use lots of pitch tones, and dramatization, for effect. The kids love it. Even the 18 month old. Then we read a passage from the Bible, and conclude in prayer. This sometimes takes ages, because they all want to pray... But we love it and let them!

Here is something some of you won't like, but I will say it anyway. Not just any book is going to do as a devotional. Your local Christian Book Store is out to make money, and they are not doing the hard work for you. As a dad you got to make sure that you are not just teaching your kids to be good kids. That's teaching morality, which is helpful, but not the aim of the game. The aim of the game is to teach your children the Gospel of Jesus Christ. To win their heart. It's not just behavior you want to change. It is the heart you want to change. They need to learn what Jesus commands of us, not how to be nice people.

So you want to keep your ear to the ground for sound biblical resources. Ask your pastor, other godly guys, or a dad who has six kids... LOL - Let me share one with you, that I have found helpful.

Sinclair Ferguson has a great family devotional guide called, "The Big Book of Questions and Answers". He starts from the beginning (Creation), and takes us to the end (The Lord's Return). If you click on the title you can order the book.

Here are the contents of this devotional:

* God is our Creator
* How things went wrong
* God had a plan
* Jesus came to save
* We become like Jesus
* We obey God
* How the Bible helps us
* Learning how to pray
* Belonging to the church
* Jesus will come back

I have done several of these lessons with our children. They love it! You will too. There are great activities Ferguson suggests, which left us all laughing at each other's drawings and hugging each other when we finished. It is so great for the family. They are nice and short too. 10 -15 minutes.

Dad's, please don't let unfamiliar ground be the reason you don't do devotions with your family. Try not to grow weary if it doesn't work out the first couple of times, we had that too. Also don't be afraid to bring discipline and correction during this time. Be consistent and loving. It is meant to be fun & exciting.

Do devotions - your whole family will grow closer to the Savior & in the end - you will then be parenting with an eternal perspective...