Daily Devotions

The end of all things is near; therefore be serious and discipline yourselves for the sake of your prayers. Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaining. Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 4:7-11

“Therefore be serious and discipline yourselves for the sake of your prayers…”

This past Sunday, on my way home from church, I stopped at a gas station about a block from our house. When I got to the counter, there were three little girls behind it. The two oldest had the chairs and the youngest was sitting on the floor. I put the things I would going to buy on the counter when the oldest girl told me that the person who could help me would be right back.

A couple of minutes later the man who normally runs things came out and began to ring my purchases up. I asked the man if he was their father and he proudly said yes. So I said to the girls, “So you have to spend your Sunday afternoons at work with your Dad? How boring is that?” They giggled.

But then their father said, “They only stopped by for a few minutes so I could say my prayers.”

Wow.

There are certain behaviors that clearly are communicated within Christian families. From today’s reading, loving others, being hospitable to others, serving others, speaking carefully to others, all of that fits neatly into the basket of what Christian parents communicate and pass on to their children. But being disciplined in prayer? How often do we model that in the lives of our children?

We realize that we ought never eat without thanking God for our food. Most of us pray around the table when we eat. But how often does that really happen? When our children are young, we say bedtime prayers with them. But at what age does that stop? Do we teach children that prayer is the last thing we do, or the first thing we do, as we move through our lives?

How often do our children see us pray? What difference might that make in their appreciation of the role that faith plays in our lives?

Let us pray: Dear Lord, far too often, turning to you in prayer is the last thing that crosses our minds as we move through our lives. By the power of your Spirit, inspire us to pray first in all things. Not out of self righteousness but as a sign of our dependence and trust in you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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