It is not uncommon for families to be convinced that they ought to do family worship, to want to do family worship, to talk about doing family worship, and yet fail ever to establish a consistent pattern of actually doing family worship. Men in particular seem easily intimidated, seeing themselves as inadequate, fearful they won’t know what to do, or that they won’t know what to say. We assembled The Family Worship Book hoping to alleviate these fears. All the necessary resources may be found there (an outline, hymns and Psalms, Bible reading record, resources for prayers, catechisms, etc.). Here is what we recommend for those who wish not only to get family worship started but to keep going (see The Family Worship Book, pp. 17–21).
First, establish a set time. Whether its morning or evening, establish a consistent time for the family to gather. Then adjust for the regular weekly calendar conflicts. When our children were school age, we gathered at 7:00am at the breakfast table every weekday except Tuesday (I had a 6:30am church prayer meeting) and Saturday (the children slept in). Those two days we met at alternate times. Sundays our devotions were with the whole church.
Second, keep it short. 10 to 15 minutes is achievable. Don’t plan for failure by aiming at hour–long family devotions. Even a half–hour may stretch the capacities of younger children and challenge the patience of distracted teens. 10 to 15 minutes a day adds up to an hour to an hour and a half in a 6–day week. Multiply that over 52 weeks, over 18 years, means a lot of Bible covered, a lot of praises sung, and a lot of prayers offered.
First, establish a set time. Whether its morning or evening, establish a consistent time for the family to gather. Then adjust for the regular weekly calendar conflicts. When our children were school age, we gathered at 7:00am at the breakfast table every weekday except Tuesday (I had a 6:30am church prayer meeting) and Saturday (the children slept in). Those two days we met at alternate times. Sundays our devotions were with the whole church.
Second, keep it short. 10 to 15 minutes is achievable. Don’t plan for failure by aiming at hour–long family devotions. Even a half–hour may stretch the capacities of younger children and challenge the patience of distracted teens. 10 to 15 minutes a day adds up to an hour to an hour and a half in a 6–day week. Multiply that over 52 weeks, over 18 years, means a lot of Bible covered, a lot of praises sung, and a lot of prayers offered.