To this day, I still have vivid memories of spending devo time with my family while growing up. In our December E3 Update, the official newsletter of Jeffrey Dean Ministries, I encouraged families to commit spending more time together praying and diving into the Word in 2010. I realize not everyone receives our newsletter. (To receive the E3 Update, go to www.Jeffreydean.com, click on Follow JD in the Menu, and click on the E3 Update.) So I’ve included an excerpt from the December newsletter about the importance of making devo time with your family a priority.
Psalm 119:9,11 says, “How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word…I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” It’s never too late to spend time praying and getting into the Word as a family. Here are a few tips for how you can join with your family in 2010 and commit to becoming a scripturally sound family in the new year:
- Read scripture together as a family. Use a variety of translations. Take turns letting one another read scripture and share the impact and significance of a verse(s).
- Develop a family prayer journal and pray together as a family.
- Develop a family mission statement and pray as a family for opportunities to do outreach missions in your community.
- Commit as a family to memorize a new scripture each week. Set goals and establish a creative reward system to make scripture memorization practical and fun.
Remember, there is no one exact way to pray and read scripture. Be creative. Think outside the box. Commit time to it and your and your family will how time spent in the Word and in prayer will produce remarkable results!
