What your children most need from you

Verse for the week: “For God alone my soul waits in silence, from him comes my salvation.” Psalm 62.1

Prayer for the week: Once, O God, you have spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to you and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love. Render unto even me, O Lord, your steadfast love, through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord. Amen. (from Psalm 62)

Bible reading for the day: Deuteronomy 6.4-12 (note: “Deuteronomy” means second law. A subsequent generation has learned from the Babylonian Exile and is now confessing with its own mouth what it means to the people of Yahweh)

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. ⁵ You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. ⁶ And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. ⁷ You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. ⁸ You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. ⁹ You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

¹⁰ “And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities that you did not build, ¹¹ and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full, ¹² then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

Prayer (based on the TRIP* method): Gracious and almighty Father, in a world that clamors after other gods, thank you for choosing us to belong to you. To chase another god only lands us back in our old slavery. So, for my children and their children, continue to put your word on my lips at our kitchen table and bedside, when we lie down and when we rise, when we travel and when we are at home… that our heart, soul, and strength may be kept in you alone, O Lord. I ask this in Jesus’ name, amen.

Hymn: follow this link to a beloved classic that gives further voice to today’s conversation with the Lord: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuYhHdmubBE

What does God declare concerning all these commandments?

He says: “I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments” (Exodus 20:5b-6 ESV).

What does this mean?

God threatens to punish all who violate these commandments. We should, therefore, fear his anger and in no way disobey them. But God promises grace and every blessing to all who keep these commandments. We should, therefore, love him, trust in him, and gladly keep his commandments. (from The Small Catechism, by Martin Luther ©Reclaim Resources, Sola Publishing, 2011)

benediction: The peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.  (Philippians 4.7)

 

*The T.R.I.P. approach to prayer is based on the way Martin Luther prayed and taught others to pray.  It was later developed by Walter and Ingrid Trobisch and then adapted by Mount Carmel Ministries (Alexandria, MN www.dailytext.com).  The method is founded on scripture and easy to remember:

T: thanksgiving

                                                            R: regret (repentance)

                                                            I: intercession (asking God to take a specific action)

                                                            P: plan or purpose

Reading a biblical text and then applying this method gives one a sound, simple way to form one’s prayers...not to mention that it helps one learn how to faithfully reflect on God’s Word and talk to God.