If Walls Could Talk, Part One: The Family Altar

If walls could talk, our large farmhouse where I grew up in Pennsylvania would have a lot to say.  I'm thinking in particular of the special place our living room became after the evening meal at close of day. Mom, Dad, and all five of us children listened as daddy read from the Bible, and then we'd kneel beside our chairs for family prayer.  What a precious memory that is to me.

What better place than that for children to be taught reverence and honor for God's Word?  To hear their parents pray -- to learn how to pray?

I think of the Scripture in Ephesians 6:4, "Father's, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord."  And also Proverbs 22:6, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it."  That's a promise to stand on.

If I could, I would love to encourage you to have a family Bible reading and payer time in your home.  Maybe you've never had one, and don't even know where to start.  I offer some suggestions for your consideration.

• Make it a happy, delightful time: short, sweet, not long or tiring.
• This is not a time for preaching, rebuking, or correcting.  It's a time for praying and loving on one another.
• Do not gossip or criticize others, including the pastor or those in authority over you.  This is worship time.
• Read the miracles of Jesus, or some Psalms or Proverbs.
• Read stories from the Old Testament, like David and Goliath, Jonah, the creation account, etc.
• Give time for children to ask questions; no question is too small or unimportant.
• Have a Scripture memorization time once in awhile. 
• Consider doing flannelgraph lessons; it will keep things varied and interesting.  Here's one link in case you're interested: http://www.thefeltsource.com/BibleSeparates.html 
• Get the children involved; some may want to read the Bible story, or do the flannelgraph lesson.
• Discuss together how what you read or learned can be applied in each one's life.
• Pray for lost people, sickness, personal needs, or crisis situations that need God's answers.
• Don't make everyone pray out loud, but encourage every attempt.
• Let your children hear you pray for them.  Thank God for them and bless them in prayer with words that you want to see come to pass in their lives. 

May your home have walls that could tell of a family altar time.  I bless you parents in Jesus' Name as you obey God's commandment to bring up your children in the training and instruction of the Lord.

Copyright © 2012 Elaine Beachy