Friday, 12 September 2008
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Trying to Pray for My Family Like My Father Prayed
from bn_cognizant
For a long time now, I've been trying to understand the responsibilities of being a Christian. It's constant work to build the relationship I have with God, but at the same time I've tried my hardest to neglect just that.
There was a time that I loved going to church. Me and my dad used to always go to 8am service together. I was even active in various church groups. I made it my priority to read my Bible daily and make little flash cards of inspiring scripture I studied around school.
But that all changed after my dad died in a car accident. My father was the spiritual rock of my family. He prayed in the car while it warmed up to ask the Lord for traveling mercies. I always remember him praying with us and for us. So now that he's gone, I must stand in the gap for my family.
Basically, that means that I need to be the one in constant prayer for my family's well- being like my father used to be. The responsibilities I never thought I'd have to take on, I happily accept. I believe the Lord puts us through situations to see if we will call on Him before anyone else, in good times and in bad. It's like that lyric from the song "Tennessee" by Arrested Development: "I know you're suppose to be my steering wheel. Not just my spare tire." God's supposed to lead our lives, not just be there when stuff goes wrong. All in all, my newfound responsibility has made me a stronger person. I can make it through because He won't leave or forsake me.
What do you think are the spiritual responsibilities for leading a Christian family?
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Comments (5)
Certainly, prayer is the utmost! The next would be to try to anticipate where the family would need leadership. If you have young children, you would proactively begin teaching them about God, and teaching them Bible stories - so a time of Family Devotions is good. Doesn't have to be more than a half hour, and with small children, I tried to limit it to just the story and any questions they had.
If you have school aged kids, you may need to have "date nights" where you just take them off for a private time with Dad or Mom so they can have a safe place to talk of frightening things they might not try to talk about otherwise.
If you have preteens, you might need to remind them of what God says about their changing bodies, and that they should be wary of making choices that will have devastating consequences.
Teenagers need individual handling, and though they will keep shrugging off any mature input they didn't ask for, keep offering it - they ARE listening.
Setting a good example is core to it all. Everyone notices when our lifestyles slip. What they marvel at are the ones who show humility in admitting that the slip occurred, and the watch as that person gets back up to once again set a Godly stride.
Having said all of this, I am not so certain that you are required to try and walk in your father's place. His mission in life was different from yours. You cannot be your mother's mate; but you can be her (son/daughter?). You cannot father your siblings, but you can MENTOR them.
Your father got where he did by achieving his goals. You should move forward into your maturity by doing the same. In other words: Don't put off college or career training to care for the family. That's God's job, though you are to help where you can. By living the life your father wanted you to live, you will be helping your family members see that God is able to be the father to the fatherless, and the husband to the widow. So, don't try and fill God's shoes either (wink).
GREAT post! It had to have been a tough one to find words for. I'm proud of how you managed it.
Awesome post! i really enjoyed this..
obviously i dont have a family, but if i did spiritual responsibilities would be prayer, of course, going to church, reading the bible, sunday school answers and what not.
as for the family themselves, father has have good leadership qualities, mother has to be submissive but loving, and children have to be respectful, even if they dont agree w/ everything the parents say.
i really enjoyed reading your post
i think prayer is important. also, i think it's important for parents to pass on the importance of prayer and devotion to their children so that a legacy can build. your dad obviously did a great job with this, and i believe that he would be very proud of you!
I think your dad would be very proud of you too!
I pray that you won't feel like you must take on too much responsibility and then feel overwhelmed =)
keep it up! you can do it with God's strength.
i wish my family are into praying together n stuffs like that but we're always on our own. all i do is just encourage my parents on doing devotion and reflecting God's love when I'm away.