creative titles are not my gifting

Do you pray with your children? Do you pray with your spouse? Do you pray infront of your family? Have your children seen you seeking the Lord?

I believe in having a time and place set apart to go and seek the Lord privately. It's so important to have that one on One intimate time with Him. But I think it is equally important for our families (especially your children) to see us doing it openly also. And i'm not just speaking about once a week at church.

Think about your child seeing you on your knees, broken, crying out to the Lord. Have you ever thought about how many doors that would open? What kind of questions would pop up? The conversations you could have? The depth that your relationship could be taken to?

Sometimes (i know for my family) the only time we hear another family member pray is when we're thanking the Lord for our food. And to be honest most of the time it feels like we're doing it just to check it off our 'to do' list. Really?

Last week was stinkin' hard. I don't want to go into details about it because i don't want pity, but it really got me thinkin' about PRAYER.

I heard a woman CRY OUT TO THE LORD more than i've ever heard anyone do over my life. Her faith behind her words and her heart seemed SO powerful, passionate, and real. Man, to be able to pray like that... that's what i want.

I got up the courage to share with my parents all that was going on... knowing how they might respond. And even asked them to pray over me before we went to bed. Then i got to thinking about it....

When is the last time I heard these people pray?

When is the last time they heard or saw me praying?

Do we realize what could happen to this family if we poured our hearts out to the Lord in prayer? If we CRIED out His name?

What happened to bedtime prayers with my parents when i was a child? Exactly why did they end?

I'm thinking we should be less secret with our time with the Father. Yes, have your "quiet" time with Him - the time where it's just You and Him connecting - but don't let that be it. Think of the power that is available to you and your family... and realize that you could have it, if you only prayed.

I don't share this for you to look down on my family or anything. I share it because i want to be REAL with people. I have NOTHING to hide and never want people to think i'm something i'm not. To be genuine, transparent, and real with people is my hearts cry. And that is why i share this.

I'm thinking the enemy probably loves the fact that we've forgotten about praying with our families. That it just kind of slips our minds and we don't even think about it. That we're so busy and totally neglect to do it. I'm sure he's lovin' that. Don't let him have that hold over you - he realizes what would happen if we only prayed.

So, if you feel lead, i challenge you to start praying with your family. To start being real with your family - the parts of you that you sometimes don't want to share. And to stick it out even when it gets hard and you don't feel like it. (and realize you may have to be the one to take the initiative)

And for the parents who think their children are growing up and reaching the age where it's 'uncool' to still say prayers at bedtime with their parents - do it anyways... please. They will thank you later! The enemy wants you to believe that it's uncool and that it doesn't matter - i choose to believe that it does matter.

In the POWERful name of Jesus -