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I’ve heard people say it over and over again. “Boy, I can tell if I miss my devotions. I just have the worst day.” And for awhile, I misunderstood that statement to mean only people who failed to do their morning Bible reading ended up with days when everything unravels at both ends.
I remember realizing my misunderstanding for the first time. On a particular day a few years ago when everything was unraveling, I desperately prayed to God, “Why is this happening? I even had my devotions this morning!”
As soon as the words left my mouth, the pang of conviction stopped me in my prayer. I was, in a sense, blaming God for not coming through on His end of the bargain. The bargain was one that I had unknowingly established, which said God was entitled to give me a good day if I set aside time to pray and read His Word.
And I knew, in that instant, that God wasn’t entitled to give me a good day or bless my efforts or provide smooth sailing. Nothing I did could entitle God to do anything. He was the One at work in my life, and it was HIS work and HIS plan, not something I had contracted out to Him. If He decided that trying days would best conform me to His image, then my day would be nothing less than “refining.”
On the other hand, what were devotions and quiet times good for? Why was I supposed to faithfully study the Bible and pray?
I’ve come up with a short list of reasons that I have found to be true over the years.
- It clues me into God’s plan. I get a glimpse of what God is trying to accomplish in my life, and I can trust His promise that He will complete that work. As I study the Bible, I see the nature of the work He is doing and get an idea, from other characters in the Bible, how God will go about accomplishing that work in my life.
- It sustains the Spirit’s work. In temptation, the Spirit can only remind me of passages that I have read and studied. During trials, the Spirit can only comfort me with Scriptures that I am familiar with.
- It reveals the One who is at work. If nothing else, studying the Bible reveals to me the God of the Bible, the One who is at work in my life. Only through knowing Him can I have the assurance and the confidence that He is good, that He is merciful, that He is faithful, that He is the “I Am” of all that I will ever need.
Will studying God’s word daily guarantee that I’ll walk on water while everyone else is fighting storms? Not in the least. But that quiet time with God will be the outstretched arm I need when I’m sinking below the waves.
For our family Bible time, we’ve been going through the book Long Story Short. So, for our homeschooling plans, I wanted to do something that would complement our family time rather than compete with it. I pieced together a Bible survey for the kids, including some great audio Bible stories (you can read all about it here).
But I really wanted to share with you a great resource my husband found that I hope to use in our survey. It’s a list of some succinct purpose statements for each book of the Old Testament. If you’re teaching your kids the books of the Bible and/or their divisions, this would be a great tool. By learning these short statements for each book, your child will be able to grasp the bigger picture of the Bible’s story.
Specifically for the Old Testament, I think it’s easy for our children to see the Old Testament as just a bunch of stories with no real connection to the New Testament. But the beauty of the Bible is that all 66 books tell one continuous story. Long Story Short helps to break this down simply and easily for children, but with our Bible survey, I’m hoping to give a framework that the kids can use to organize and recall the facts they learn during our family time.
What are some ideas of things you have done for your family Bible time?
“We all go through seasons in which our faith walk seems to be in mere maintenance mode rather than thriving and vital. It is a testing of our faith. At such times we find out whether our faith rests on the truth of Christ or on the good feelings we get after a lengthy quiet time.”
—Joy, a godly woman’s adornment
by Lydia Brownback
Sometimes, a lack of joy is a definite wooing of God back to Himself, reminding us of His filling presence and our absence from His table. We’ve neglected prayer and quiet time with Him, and our spiritual lives feel the void.
At other times, however, even with faithful devotions the “feeling” just may not be there. And herein lies the test: do you worship because your Savior is worthy, or because you need a special feeling?
Perhaps you are discouraged in your spiritual life because you don’t feel the same spiritual high that you once had in college. Maybe you’ve given up your quiet times because they just “don’t do anything for you.” The motivation this week is to love our God because He is worthy, to fellowship with Him daily because of who He is—without the pressure to feel a certain way when we close our devotion time.
And do you know what I suspect will happen? You will be filled once more with a genuine awe of your God, and from that sense of awe will flow the joy you’ve been striving for.
When God’s words took on flesh, they became Christ.
Born of a virgin—originating his own life
Resurrected from the dead—taking up his own life again
Giver of life—raising others from the dead
Offering life abundant—presenting eternal life to the spiritually dead
If your words were to become flesh, what would they look like?
When the Creator created, He did it with a word.
His words gave life. His words became.
Flowers, elephants, stars and galaxies, you and me–
with a word, nothingness burst to life.
In His image, our words also become; yet, they don’t always bring life. Pivotal moments happen, where a single word can bring hurt or healing, failure or success, fear or courage.
When your words are spoken, do they become life or death to those who hear them?
Our words show the intentions of our hearts and the direction of our lives.
What words describe your home, your family, your life? Be honest and real with your answer.
Is that the intention or the direction you desire? If not, then change the words that define you. (James 3:3-4)
Part 2, a sequel to the post Devotional Tips for Young Moms and Other Busy Women
Though I highly recommend a set prayer time, prayer is something that cannot be partitioned to one part of the day. Part of being renewed, refreshed, and spiritually connected during the day is a life of unceasing prayer. But how do you accomplish this without a million unfinished thoughts?
In Paul Miller’s book A Praying Life, he comments on Matthew 11:28, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Miller asks:
“What does it feel like to be weary? You have trouble concentrating. The problems of the day are like claws in your brain. You feel pummeled by life.
What does heavy-laden feel like? Same thing. You have so many problems you don’t even know where to start. You can’t do life on your own anymore. Jesus wants you to come to him that way! Your weariness drives you to him.
Don’t try to get the prayer right. Just tell God where you are and what’s on your mind. That’s what children do. They come as they are, runny noses and all.”
That’s how I have to come. I couldn’t pray if I had to come with all my thoughts lined up and coherent. I want to come reverently, but I can’t come perfectly.
Because I do have trouble keeping my thoughts all in a row, I find it very helpful to have a prayer schedule (a specific area of prayer for each day) and a prayer journal (to write out my thoughts) during my scheduled prayer times. But during the day, to keep prayer on my heart and mind, there are a few tools that have helped to immerse me in God’s Word and prayer.
- Short prayer themes, just like short Bible verse studies, help to keep my prayer for the day fresh on my mind. I’ve experimented with a few methods, all of which have been helpful. For praying for my husband, a couple of resources include Stormy Omartian’s book The Power of a Praying Wife, and a prayer calendar (scroll to the bottom of the linked post to download). The same blog also has a calendar for praying for children. Right now, I am doing the “21 days of prayer challenge” at Warrior Prayers. (You can join me at my Blogfrog community. Join Blogfrog for a free account; then follow on my Warrior Prayers Challenge community.)
- Set a schedule for regular prayer times throughout the day. For me, this is best if I connect it with certain activities–every time I wash dishes, do laundry, etc. If your schedule is regimented by a timer, try praying the first 10 minutes of every hour, every couple of hours, etc. If you are on a computer throughout the day, set a schedule of reminders on your computer calendar. Whatever your system, find a way to keep prayer a part of your routine.
- Seek opportunities to pray with, for, and over your children. Although this seemed a little awkward for me when I first began doing this, it has become a vital part of my day–especially on “those” days, if you know what I mean. Pray with your child after discipling him, pray for your child when he’s frustrated, pray over your children when the day just comes to a climax. There are difficult days when I have gathered my children in my arms and just wept that the Lord would free all of us from a spirit of heaviness. (Anyone else have those days?) I’m learning that if I want prayer to be a part of my children’s lives, they must see it as a part of my life. And if I want a vibrant life with God, prayer has to be our connecting point–even if it doesn’t happen hours at a time in a prayer closet.
- Prepare your sanctuary to be your prayer closet. Whether this includes a copy of your prayer calendar or a helpful Bible verse, have your retreat prepared for these emergency meetings with God. I mentioned in my previous post that the bathroom tends to be my place of retreat. Right now, I’m reading Lydia Brownback’s devotional on Joy, and it is a perfect prayer retreat as well.
To read about the joy of the Lord and it’s purpose, to couple with that with a prayer for joy in that moment and that particular situation of the day, is often exactly what I need to face the challenges of the day with a renewed spirit.
Please note that I am by no means belittling a set time of day and spending a concentrated 30 minutes to an hour in prayer. But for most of us in this stage of life, that is difficult. What I want to inspire is a desire to move past any guilt and do all that you can do to keep your relationship with God intimate and alive. I want to encourage other busy women that God and family don’t have to compete.
There is no way to be all that I need to be for my husband and my children, if I am not first all I need to be before God–not strong and self-succient, but humble and utterly dependent on His strength for every moment.
I can remember pre-motherhood, the deep Bible studies and long times of prayer I used to have, particularly during my college days. Now, suddenly, I’m lucky to fit it in unless I wake up with the worms (that means, even before the early birds). Even then, my time is limited, and consequently, so is my depth of study.
For years, I’d beat myself up with guilt and even go through periods of giving up on devotions altogether because I couldn’t get the quality out of them that I craved. But as I talked with other godly women, older women who had survived the struggles of motherdom and come out on the other side, I received some valuable advice that helped me deal with my guilt. One piece of advice was that the Lord does not want me to neglect my family, even for lengthy devotions. He’s clear on this point in a couple of passages, especially Titus 2:5, where neglecting our duties is said to be the same as blaspheming God.
So how do I care for my family and fit in quality devotions? Through a strategy of immersion rather than submersion. Here’s what I mean: though you might not have time to go “deep”, we all have bits of time throughout the day to continually immerse ourselves in God’s Word and in prayer. Listed below are a few ideas that have helped me.
- Study shorter passages for longer amounts of time. Take a verse or two each day. This isn’t lazy by any means. I have learned that if I read a couple of verses, I have time to really meditate and to study those verses more fully than if I read long passages at a time. That doesn’t mean that you read verses out of context, but rather study a book of the Bible in bite-sizes.
- Meditate on your reading through the day. This is immersion, and it works best with a strategy of reading smaller passages at a time. The lesson from my devotions is the lesson for my whole day, and many times I will have a good paraphrase of what I have read fresh on my mind. And each day, my understanding of the passage grows. I’m digging deep one spoonful of dirt at a time.
- Arrange a sanctuary for retreat. We all have moments during the day when we just have to get away. Especially at home with little ones, I have found that I crave “just a few minutes” more than I ever used to. So, I’ve set up a place of retreat (don’t laugh) in my bathroom. This is the place I can lock myself away for those precious few moments and pray and meditate–mostly undisturbed. The short devotional readers are perfect for this sanctuary. Find a favorite devotional book that has a short verse and a page or two of devotional thoughts. A couple of my favorites have been Lydia Brownback’s books.
Other thoughts for your sanctuary might include a Bible verse written on a 3×5 card for you to memorize and meditate on, or a list of Bible verses that especially encourage you. You might even have mini-sanctuaries set up throughout your home–at the kitchen sink, by the rocking chair in the baby’s room, next to your cleaning supplies. Think through where you tend to be during the day when the exhaustion hits you the hardest, the place where you need an oasis and a refreshing taste of the Living Water; then, try to have what you need waiting for you.
Time with God is crucial, especially during the time of our lives when the demands of family and little ones are constant. Whether you find that time during the quiet late at night or the hush of early (very early) morning, make the most of it and take it with you through your day.
Coming soon…I’ll be writing a follow-up post on Prayer Tips for Young Moms and Other Busy Women. In the meantime, please comment and let me know what has helped you carve out those special times with God.
It’s so tempting to look for a 3-step plan in parenting. “If you do this, this, and this, your children are guaranteed to turn out perfectly.” And yet, our children don’t need a 3-step approach; they need parents BEING Christians.
Perhaps, this is why God provides guidelines for parenting, but no step-by-step instructions: He wants us to be training disciples, not constructing assembly-line Christians. But to be disciple-makers, we must first be disciples.
Isn’t it ironic that while our own image of what we should look like as a disciple is rather fuzzy, we usually have a pretty-defined image in our heads of how we want our children to turn out–generous, evangelistic, prayerful, humble, bold in witness, compassionate. But are those things we are merely teaching without modeling those attributes to our children? Do your children see you being compassionate and bold in witness? Do they see you generous and prayerful?
No disciple is taught to be what his teacher is not (Luke 6:40).
Father, teach me to be your faithful disciple, and in your grace, work that same miracle in the lives of my children.
I’ve started the Good Morning Girls book club and have been reading this week in the Bible passages they have assigned. The first three have been a great combination of verses to meditate on: Psalm 127:1, John 15:4-5, and Matthew 6:33. I thought I’d share a little with you today, as it really moved me this morning as I was praying.
The Lord is the builder of the house and the producer of the fruit. It’s not my work. Anything that I happen to accomplish is only what the Lord in His grace and might has allowed me to accomplish. Of course, a natural application is to ask Him for strength. But, God convicted me of another point this morning. If it’s His strength I’m using, then perhaps I ought to ask Him what it is He wants to accomplish with that strength.
After all, isn’t that what a servant would do? No servant uses his master’s resources to accomplish his own purposes; he seeks first his master’s priorities.
Instead of pulling out my to-do list and approaching Almighty God with an attitude of “here it is, Lord; make it happen,” I ought to approach Him in utter humility, destitute in the spirit, and ask Him what He wants done. Then, remarkably, I can know I have the strength of the Almighty to accomplish His purpose, no matter how insurmountable it may appear.
How different my home would be if I traded my to-do list for His.
