Good stewardship is not only the giving, earning, or use of our money, but it is also the use of our abilities, the use of our time, and the care we give to our family as well as others.

One thing I would like to make mention of first is to please be sensitive of the children in your presence when you are speaking about current events.  One big mistake we seem to make as a society is to watch too many news bulletins and violence on TV instead of spending that time in prayer. It is of the upmost importance to realize that our children can hear and feel all of the drama flowing from our television sets. If we all would spend more time in prayer, instead of watching news and other programs on the TV, that prayer would help to bring peace to our families, our nation’s leaders and the world in general.

“My advice is that, first of all, there should be prayers offered for everyone – petitions, intercessions and thanksgiving – and especially for political as well as spiritual leaders, kings, and those in positions of authority, so that we may be able to live religious and reverent lives in peace and quiet.” (2 Timothy 2:2; 14-26) [2001, Tommy Lane]

So let us pray for those in authority all over the world, that they may not disturb the peace of our world, “so that we may be able to live religious and reverent lives in peace and quiet.” (2 Timothy 2:2)  Instead of focusing on the dreadful stuff that is going on all around us in the media and in some of our own lives, let us keep our focus on God... Let’s choose not to waste time on worry, fear and dread, nor on TV newscasts and programs that propel such, but instead to spend more time in prayer.

     Spending time in prayer, both individually and with your family is of vital importance to the spiritual well being of not only our own selves but to that of our family members as well as other Christians. If a Christian family does not pray together, it may be at risk spiritually.  I understand that some families may think of it as too difficult to pray together because some family members may not want to pray together or because they are coming and going at various hours. Therefore, they lay claim to difficulty in finding a time when all or most of the family are all home and cooperative. Families uniting and making firm decisions, in this time of our nation’s instability, to pray together as a family every day may well prove to be an important part of our saving that which we claim to value most.

How to begin: Choose a room where there will be no distractions, a room in the house where others will not be coming and going. Make a set time for the prayer and begin. Even if you are the only person in your family who wants to pray, continue to pray on your own, in a designated place that your partner and children and/or other relatives/household members are (clearly) aware is open to joining should they so choose. In time, they very well may decide to join you.

I recently heard of a family that decided to pray together at 10pm every night. Every night everything comes to a stop at 10pm and they pray together. Even if the phone rings while they pray they do not answer it. Those who know the family know they begin to pray at 10pm and that there is no point in phoning after 10pm on any day. Their family prayer comes first. That is just an example... and i for one think it a fantastic one at that. Find a time to suit your family. [2001, Tommy Lane]

As well as finding a designated time for your family, you may also need to find a manner of praying that fits with the needs of your family. Prayer should uplift us (as well as others) and help us to rise above the burdens we all carry. Remember when Jesus suffered his agony in Gethsemane. (Matthew 26:37) “And being in agony He prayed more earnestly: and His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” — Luke 22:44. At first, he prayed for his burden to be lifted from him. However, through the power of prayer, he found strength to face His cross and then he was able to say, “Not my will but yours be done.” If our prayers are to work, they should be ones that uplift ourselves, our family and other Christians to the Lord, so that our families as well as our sisters and brothers in the body of Christ, as a whole, may be aided in facing  the many difficulties of daily life.

Therefore, I urge you to find a way of praying that will do this for your family. There are many excellent prayer books available in religious bookshops, but you should also consider using Bible scriptures as part of the family prayer time. Reading the Bible in not simply saying or reading its words, it is meant for us to meditate on, to live on the (every) Word of God as we go about our day as well as when in prayer. The words of the Bible were handed down to us in order to move us closer to God as well as to draw the Holy Spirit to us and hence has many beautiful scriptures that can be used during prayer.

Additionally, if you are not praying for our country, please wake up and pray every day for the body of Christ, our country, our world and its peace. I am convinced (just as many of you are also) that if enough people prayed together, on a daily basis, the course of world history could be changed for the greater good of all humanity. In general, as Christians, it is saddening to know we do not believe strongly enough in the power of prayer… but the hour to embrace that belief with strong conviction is now truly upon the Christian body.

A perfect example of the power of prayer can clearly be seen in the following incident-a true testimonial by Dr. David Jeremiah.

“While serving at a small field hospital in Africa, I traveled every two weeks by bicycle through the jungle to a nearby city for supplies. This required camping overnight halfway. On one of these trips, I saw two men fighting in the city. One was seriously hurt so I treated him and witnessed to him about the Lord Jesus Christ. I then returned home without incident. Upon arriving in the city several weeks later, I was approached by the man I had treated earlier. He told me he had known that I carried money and medicine. He said, “Some friends and I followed you into the jungle, knowing you would camp overnight. We waited for you to go to sleep and planned to kill you and take your money and drugs. Just as we were about to move into your campsite, we saw that you were surrounded by 26 armed guards. I laughed at this and said, “I was certainly all alone out in the jungle campsite.” The young man pressed the point, “No sir, I was not the only one to see the guards. My five friends also saw them, and we all counted them. It was because of those guards that we were afraid and left you alone.” At this point of my church presentation in Michigan, one of the men in the church stood up and interrupted me. He asked, “Can you tell me the exact date when this happened?” I thought for a while and recalled the date. The man in the congregation then gave his side of the story. He stated, “On that night in Africa it was day here. I was preparing to play golf. As I put my bags in the car, I felt the Lord leading me to pray for you. In fact, the urging was so great that I called the men of this church together to pray for you. Will all those men who met to pray please stand?” The men who had met that day to pray together stood. . . there were 26 of them!”  (Dr. David Jeremiah’s story about prayer is published in Prayer: The Great Adventure)

The following is a simple prayer that I ran across (some where a long my studies) and thought might be helpful:

"Lord, hold our political leaders, our military, our spiritual leaders and their families as well as our own families in your all knowing and loving hands. Protect them as they attempt to lead and protect us. Bless them and their families abundantly for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need. Amen."

In closing, I would like to point out that someone must be the head of a home… in a Christian home with a healthy relationship; this is known to be the husband. When a Christian man leads his home with love and kindness, he will most often not find any real or tremendous resistance from his Christian wife. Love and kindness in a Christian home includes praying with your family… with your wife… with your children and teaching them how to pray. It also includes teaching your children to love and respect the Word of God... this job does not fall solely on the church-it begins at home.

These are not ‘minor’ activities, as some might mistakenly believe, they are vitally important to the nurturance… growth… and the continuation of a healthy existence within the family as well as each members (individual) lives. Additionally, for some families, during this current age of never ceasing daily trials… it may even mean the continuation of a family co-existing in the same household all together.

If a bit of guidance is needed in learning how to lead your home in prayer you might like to review the scriptures below. For guidance on leading in marriage - like Jesus would expect–click here.  Also, Click here for free online audio's of the Christ Church Nashville Men’s Fraternity in Tennessee–a group of  men who are committed to learning more about being better husbands, fathers and friends; responding to God’s word in Proverbs 27: 17  “As Iron Sharpen Iron, so as one man sharpens another”. 

Additionally, you may want to consider seeking the advice of a trusted Christian leader in your church or community.

Romans 8:26-27;    John 14:16;    1 Corinthians 4:5;   
as believers we are not left to our own resources to cope. Even when we do not know the right words to pray, the Holy Spirit prays with and for you, and God answers. With God helping you to pray you do not need to be afraid to come before Him. Ask the Holy Spirit to intercede for you “in harmony with God’s own will.” Then when and as you bring your request to God, trust that He will always do what is best.

Lord, teach us to pray… Luke 11:1-13
In Luke 11:2-13 notice the order in this prayer. First Jesus praised God. Then he made his requests. Praising God puts us in the right frame of mind to tell him about our needs. All too often, our prayers are more like a shopping list rather than a conversation with God. These verses focus on three aspects of prayer: its content (11:2-4), our persistence (11:5-10) and Gods faithfulness (11:11-13)
 

Reference used: NLT 2004, 2nd Ed. Life Application Study Bible

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