Is Your Home a Place of Prayer? Here's Why It Should Be.
Article from “Witness Magazine,” Spring 2022
A shrill whistle from the back row of the church screeched throughout the church during the pastor’s prayer. Gary’s mother was horrified, and after church, she asked him, “Whatever made you do such a thing?” Gary’s sober response was, “I asked God to teach me to whistle, and he did!”
This young man had learned about the power of prayer, hopefully, from his parents. It is by prayer that we enlist the power of God in our lives. We ask him to do what we cannot do.
Is your home a house of prayer? When prayer is an active part of a family’s lifestyle, it has several effects.
Benefits of a Praying Household
It helps with our perspective on problems
Prayer helps us reorder our priorities
Prayer gives us a sense of purpose
It helps us with our perspective on problems.
The apostle Paul wrote, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6,7). We should recognize it and take it to the Lord in prayer when we worry. We often discover the solution by gaining God’s perspective on an issue.
Prayer helps us reorder our priorities.
It activates our faith in God, puts him and his will first in our lives, and allows us to leave the situation with him. We may also find that what we highly value could be a deterrent to God’s blessings in our homes.
Prayer gives us a sense of purpose.
We discover how God wants to use our family for his glory. Our prayers lessen our daily cares and keep us in a place where God can use us.
How to Make Your Household a Place of Prayer
Pray as a family, not just as individuals
Pray when family members are sick.
Ask God to send his angels to protect family members
Pray as a family, not just as individuals.
Use bedtime and mealtime as intentional times of prayer. Ask family members for prayer requests and pray about them as a family.
Pray when family members are sick.
The Bible has powerful stories of parents asking God to heal family members. Two examples are a father asking Jesus to heal his son (Matthew 17:14-18) and a mother petitioning Jesus to heal her daughter (Mark 7:24-30). I was unaware of how our modeling of prayer affected our three-year-old daughter. As I rested on the couch due to being sick, she asked if I wanted her to have a healing prayer service for me. She had seen them in our church and was ready to act.
Ask God to send his angels to protect family members.
We started this early in our family life, and I am glad we did. One day a drunken neighbor launched an attack on our home by shattering the glass in our den window. Cindy grabbed the girls, herded them into an upstairs bathroom, bolted the door and I called the police. They told us if we could find any broken glass in the girls’ hair or any cuts on them, they could hold the neighbor on a more severe charge. We searched but found nothing. I was astounded because they were lying on the floor in the den when the window shattered. On the rug, all around that area, was broken glass of various shapes and sizes. I am convinced that at least one angel protected them from injury.
Solomon wrote, “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain” (Psalm 127:1). Unless we connect with God in building a strong marriage and family, we will labor in vain. Our efforts will be futile. I’m reminded of the little boy who prayed to God, “Dear God, please take care of my daddy and my mommy and my sister and my brother and my doggy and me. Oh, please take care of yourself, God. If anything happens to you, we’re gonna be in a big mess.”
Willie Batson loves equipping individuals and couples with tools for building healthy relationships. Feel free to contact him for more help on strengthening your relationships. He is a retired pastor, a published author, a podcast co-host, and the Lead Coach at W.C. Batson Coaching. Visit his website for more information about how he can help you and other couples: www.williebatson.com