Gay N. Lewis

 

The Bible. A Good Book to Read Daily

The Power of a Daily Family Devotional

By Gay N. Lewis

The alarm clanged. I’m not a morning person, and I hated that loud thing. Staggering through the house, I woke up kids. Three sleepy girls stumbled from beds, made their way to the den and turned on the television. I kept my eyes on the clock and gave orders. “Turn off the TV. (These days, it would be “turn off the cell phones.”) Eat this, wear that, comb your hair.” Mornings were chaotic at our house during those early years with young children.

The frenzied activity halted for fifteen minutes each day. Regardless of where our daughters were in their routine, their dad would say, “Come on, girls, it’s time.”

 Dad, dressed in suit and tie, because he is a morning person, called us all to the living room. He chose the middle section of the sofa, and our three daughters joined him. They often argued over who would sit next to him, until we adopted the rotation system. I sat nearby, and we put the hurry-scurry on hold while we spent a few minutes with the Lord.  We had no clue how important this daily custom would mean to each of us in later years.

My husband, their preacher dad, read a chapter from a children’s Bible. The children’s edition featured pictures, and our daughters loved the stories in modern, simple English. After the story, we memorized a Scripture. He chose one each week for us from the 1972 edition of the Living Bible. The Living Bible is a paraphrase, not a translation, and it is easy for children to understand and memorize.  After the story, we recited the new Scripture in unison, and then we each prayed. Listening to our daughter’s prayers could be eye opening. We discovered their depth of understanding and heard their candid ideas and needs.

After the serenity pause, the dash-about activities began again. The youngsters ran to pick up lunches and rushed out the door.

Family devotionals began with the birth of our first child. The habit continued until our grown daughters left the nest. The children’s Bible sits on our library shelf these days. It is a sweet memory of yesteryear. Now, the two of us, husband and wife, keep the tradition. We read a passage silently from our adult Bibles and then discuss it.

Fast forward fifty years. Our daughters can still recite those Scriptures, and through the mountains and valleys of life, those Godly Words brought comfort. The adult children are grateful they memorized them.

Our firstborn developed early-onset dementia before she reached the age of fifty. After her husband died with cancer, we supervised her care management. For ten years, we watched this smart, vivacious, young woman decline with this horrific disease.

One day, while she was in the early stages, we waited for a doctor. Sitting on the exam table, she said, “I’m so scared.” She knew what awaited her with this disease. I replied, “Quote your favorite Scripture.” She looked at me and smiled. “Don’t worry about anything, instead, pray about everything. Tell God your needs and don’t forget to thank Him for His answers.” Phil: 4:6 NLT. It was one she’d leaned at her dad’s knee. We discussed the Scripture and what it meant. Over the next few years, the ones where memory existed, and she could still speak, she quoted this one constantly to herself over and again.

Another favorite verse she recited as long as she could: “Just as you trusted Christ to save you, trust Him too for each day’s problems. Live in vistal union with Him.” Col 2:6 NLT

She learned others. Romans 8:28. Romans 8:38-39. Psalms 23. 1 Peter 5:7.

Her retention eventually totally failed, and I quoted them to her. Occasionally, a flash of lucidity entered her brain as her dad or I cited them, and she smiled. Deep down inside her frail body and deteriorated mind, the Scriptures spoke.

I often wondered how she would have coped without them. Or how would we? These Scriptures carried comfort during dark days.

In late October 2024, Hospice gave us the sad words. “She is transitioning rapidly now. We can’t say when she will go, but it will be soon.” I didn’t know when she was going, but I knew where.

On October 26, I stood by her bed and watched her tiny, atrophied body slip away. Oxygen helped the irregular breathing. Often the gasps stopped, but then breath continued with its slow, unpredictable irregularity.

I prayed Phil: 4: 6 over her and I personalized each phrase. “Don’t worry about anything, sweet girl. Don’t be afraid. You are going to heaven. Don’t worry about leaving us. We are fine and we will see you again in Heaven. You and I are praying about everything, and God knows our needs. He’s taking care of the needs. You need to be well and happy again. He knows you need to laugh and hug again. God will provide your needs, and we thank Him because He hears us.”

As I reworded the familiar Scriptures, too weak to open her eyes, she blinked. She heard me, and I believe God allowed her understanding in that moment we shared.

Those Scriptures she learned as a child brought her peace and encouragement during the death hour, as they did us. The Power of those family devotionals helped us throughout life and death. When we began the routine, we didn’t know how vital and essential these Scriptures would become to us.

Family devotionals reach unimaginable powerful and beneficial results.

1.     Time with God brings spiritual nourishment.

2.     Moments of quiet calms nerves, digestion, and blood pressure.

3.     Families bond together.

4.     Bible is learned.

5.     Common sense is gained.

6.     A sense of accomplishment.

7.     No matter if bad things occur during the day, realization the day started with God comforts us.

Suggestions for family devotionals

1.     Set aside ten/fifteen minutes each day for family devotions. Work out the best time for your family. Some may prefer morning, and others may prefer before bedtime.

2.     Read from a children’s Bible and show the kids the pictures. Switch to an adult Bible when the children outgrow the children’s Bible. Read a chapter each day.

3.     Let them ask questions.

4.     Choose one Scripture and recite it daily until all have it memorized.

5.     Take a few minutes to quote all the memorized Scriptures. This reinforces them.

6.     Allow each one to pray after the recitation of Scripture.

7.     Make this ritual a daily goal—seven days a week.

Children will remember and cherish, and that alone is powerful.