Family Devotional on Time with God

Submitted by Jennifer Power

Pastor Eric talked with us this past weekend about living life with God. One way to begin building a life with God is to spend time with Him. In my own life, I have found it easier to keep God in my mind throughout the day if I have spent intentional and undistracted time with Him. For families, this can be a particular challenge as calendars seem to fill rather quickly. This week, I would like to encourage families to spend some time together praying and talking about how we can make sure we are not letting opportunities for times of solitude and silence with God slip away. I have included scriptures, a short family devotion, some suggestions, and an action plan.

Scriptures (NIV)

• James 1:19 “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry”
• Lamentations 3:26 “it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord”
• Matthew 6:6 “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
• Luke 5:15-16 “Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”

Family Devotion

When Jesus was preparing to start His public ministry, He first withdrew to the desert for 40 days. During this time, He was alone with God, and this time of preparation helped prepare Him to resist the devil’s temptation and to do the work that God had for Him to do. If time alone with God was important for Jesus, it is certainly important for us as we set out to live life with God.

Discuss ways that you as a family can set aside special time on a regular basis to remove some of the regular distractions and focus on God.

Here are a few ideas:

-Have a period of time each week that is technology free

-Take a quiet walk together as a family and think about the beauty of God’s creation

-Hold hands around the dining room table and quietly pray for one another

-Have a family Bible reading hour where one member reads aloud to everyone else or where everyone sits in a room together and reads quietly.

-Get a prayer journal for each family member and quietly journal together during a preset time

-Come up with your own creative ideas that fit your family’s needs and schedule

Action Plan

Write out at least one specific way that you (as a family) will set aside time to be quiet and alone with God this week and put it up somewhere you will regularly see it.