Being Thankful: Family Worship
One of the things I’ve committed to do during this global pandemic is look for ways to be thankful. One of the things God has used COVID-19 to make me thankful for is family worship.
Niki and I both love Jesus. I’m blessed with a wife that loves Jesus more than she loves me. Both of us are committed to following Jesus, and we both have regular time set aside that we spend alone with the Lord. In conversation we talk about Jesus, much of the work we do is because of Jesus, and though not perfectly, we try our best to live lives that revolve around Jesus. And that makes my glaring omission of family worship all the more inexcusable.
What do I mean by family worship? It is just as it sounds: a time where Niki and I hit pause on everything and worship together as a family. It’s not a new concept. Deuteronomy 6:4-9 says:
“Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your city gates.”
God desires for families to worship together. And while Niki and I are both committed to following Jesus, up until recently we didn’t regularly worship together. Why is that?
We had tried before, on more than one occasion, to start a regular time of family worship. One of the main reasons I think we failed to continue it was because I tried to make it too complicated. And because I tried to make it too complicated, I got tired of doing it. Then I began to feel guilty for not doing it. And Niki felt guilty having to remind me to lead us in family worship. It turned into a mess and we just stopped.
Now that we’re at home virtually every night, and now that we cannot gather as a church in the same room to worship, and after some challenging conversations with godly friends, we decided we didn’t have any excuse not to give it another try. What we do is eat supper together at the kitchen table (not in front of the TV), and whoever gets done eating first gets the Bible out and begins reading. We usually read just a chapter, and we talk. We ask questions, we look for reasons to thank God, we look for commands to obey, we soak in the Word for a little bit. Then we pray together. Sometimes I grab a guitar and we sing a hymn. And that’s it.
This has been tremendously beneficial to our marriage and our relationship with Jesus, and if it was the current state of affairs that spurred us to begin this ritual. And when things get back to normal, we don’t plan on stopping.
If you don’t already, I would encourage you to do the same. Pick a book of the Bible (we started with 1 Samuel). Read a chapter with your family, and pray together. Even one night a week is better than not worshiping as a family at all. And don’t be afraid to give singing a try. Imagine the positive, powerful change that would take place in the world if every Christian family were faithful to worship the Lord together. And that’s a powerful, positive change that can begin right in your own home.