Tuesday: Family
With all the noise in the world, do you hear the voice of God? Your calendar tells you what to do, but do you remember who you are? Being comes before doing. This is a call to put first things first. Return to the Lord with this daily pattern of prayer and devotion. Set aside this time as a sanctuary. Find a space free of distraction and follow this pattern.
Invocation
Making the sign of the cross, I say,
I speak your name it identifies me. I am your child, of your family. So I begin my day with your name on me, the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Invitation Prayer
I invite my Lord,
Jesus, you are the good shepherd. When I was lost, you chased me down. You laid down your life for me. You know me and I know you. Call me by name and lead me. (John 10:3,11,15)
Confession
Forgive my sins, O Lord – forgive me the sins of my present and the sins of my past, the sins of my soul and the sins of my body; the sins which I have done to please myself, and the sins which I have done to please others. Forgive me my wasted and idle sins, forgive me my serious and deliberate sins, forgive me those sins which I know and those sins which I know not, the sins which I have labored so to hide from others that I have hid them from my own memory. Forgive them, O Lord, forgive them all.
Word: John 15:5-6
“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.”
Meditation
Apart from me you can do nothing.
As a parent there is a season in your children’s life where “apart from you they can do nothing.” Children rely on their parents for food, shelter, protection and love. As children grow and mature there comes another season where it seems “apart from you they can do EVERYTHING”, or so they think.
For children of God, growing and maturing in him, the true Vine, means a deeper understanding and knowledge that apart from Christ we can do nothing. It means more confession and repentance. It means less dependence on our strength and more reliance on Christ.
Remember today that Christ is abiding in you, he never outgrows you, he never tires of you. He is faithful.
Apart from me you can do nothing...but whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit.
Prayer for Family
Prayer
Father, you have given me a family. Thank you for my home. We are not perfect. Our relationships are often strained. Where there is stress, relieve. Where there is division, reconcile. Where there are wounds, heal. Where there is joy, cause it to overflow from our family to others. Plant your love in the middle of our family. Be our foundation. Your cross is our compass, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
With all the noise in the world, do you hear the voice of God? Your calendar tells you what to do, but do you remember who you are? Being comes before doing. This is a call to put first things first. Return to the Lord with this daily pattern of prayer and devotion. Set aside this time as a sanctuary. Find a space free of distraction and follow this pattern.
Invocation
Making the sign of the cross, I say,
I speak your name it identifies me. I am your child, of your family. So I begin my day with your name on me, the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Invitation Prayer
I invite my Lord,
Jesus, you are the good shepherd. When I was lost, you chased me down. You laid down your life for me. You know me and I know you. Call me by name and lead me. (John 10:3,11,15)
Confession
Forgive my sins, O Lord – forgive me the sins of my present and the sins of my past, the sins of my soul and the sins of my body; the sins which I have done to please myself, and the sins which I have done to please others. Forgive me my wasted and idle sins, forgive me my serious and deliberate sins, forgive me those sins which I know and those sins which I know not, the sins which I have labored so to hide from others that I have hid them from my own memory. Forgive them, O Lord, forgive them all.
Word: John 15:5-6
“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.”
Meditation
Apart from me you can do nothing.
As a parent there is a season in your children’s life where “apart from you they can do nothing.” Children rely on their parents for food, shelter, protection and love. As children grow and mature there comes another season where it seems “apart from you they can do EVERYTHING”, or so they think.
For children of God, growing and maturing in him, the true Vine, means a deeper understanding and knowledge that apart from Christ we can do nothing. It means more confession and repentance. It means less dependence on our strength and more reliance on Christ.
Remember today that Christ is abiding in you, he never outgrows you, he never tires of you. He is faithful.
Apart from me you can do nothing...but whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit.
Prayer for Family
- For my immediate family (parents, spouse, siblings).
- For extended family (cousins, aunts and uncles, grandparents)
- For close friends that are as family to me.
- For those who don’t have families, or whose families are broken.
- For forgiveness and reconciliation where there is division in my family.
- For provision where there is need in my family.
- For God to be the foundation, and the cross the center of my family.
- For a generation yet unborn, future members of our family.
Prayer
Father, you have given me a family. Thank you for my home. We are not perfect. Our relationships are often strained. Where there is stress, relieve. Where there is division, reconcile. Where there are wounds, heal. Where there is joy, cause it to overflow from our family to others. Plant your love in the middle of our family. Be our foundation. Your cross is our compass, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
