Home is Where the Heart Is- The Connection- WEDNESDAY

I remember my Dad coming in at bedtime and saying prayers with me and my brother when I was a little boy.  He stopped doing it as I became a teenager for some reason which I never understood.  Now that I have my own children, I understand.  I was one of those Dads who loved babies.  I loved rocking my little girls in my arms, singing to them and praying over them.  When they got a little older, I continued the practice of putting them to bed, reading a bedtime story and praying over them.  When my girls became teenagers, it became much more difficult because they stayed up past my bedtime, and it took extra effort on my part to make it happen.  The interesting thing is that all my girls (I have 4 daughters), even my 20, 17 and 14 year olds, still like it when I say a prayer over them at bedtime.  But if I don't take the initiative, it won't happen.

Prayer is listed in Ephesians 6, right after the Armor of God is described, as our offensive strategy against spiritual opposition:

I don't think I need to convince you of the importance of prayer.  It is our connection to the Father, in Jesus' name, by the power of the Spirit.  In prayer, God reveals His will to us and His love.  He helps us orient our path to where He wants us to go.  He provides protection for us.  He forgives our sins and helps us forgive others.  He hears our hearts and receives our worship.  He even cares to answer our prayers.  Paul taught often on Prayer:

Lord Jesus taught about prayer and even gave us a model prayer to follow:"This, then is how you should pray: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us today our daily bread.  Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.'"  Matthew 6:9-13 NIV

Jesus talked about the value of praying in your home, rather than praying on the streets to be seen by men.  He also said he wanted His house to be a house of Prayer. (Matthew 21:13) So why wouldn't He want our homes to be houses of Prayer, as well?

If you value prayer in your life, are you sharing this with your wife and children?  We need to be praying with our wives and praying with our children.  You've probably heard the saying, The family that prays together...stays together.  It's true!  Many of us are good about praying with other men, but we are missing this at home.  Let's lead our families to the throne of God as we lead them in prayer.  Let's watch God do amazing things in response to our prayers and see our families strengthened in the process.