Prayer Prompt #21: Praying Scripture for Your Children -- Psalm 78

O my people, listen to my instructions.

   Open your ears to what I am saying,

for I will speak to you in a parable.

I will teach you hidden lessons from our past—

    stories we have heard and known,

   stories our ancestors handed down to us.

We will not hide these truths from our children;

   we will tell the next generation

about the glorious deeds of the Lord,

   about his power and his mighty wonders.

For he issued his laws to Jacob;

   he gave his instructions to Israel.

He commanded our ancestors

   to teach them to their children,

so the next generation might know them—

   even the children not yet born—

   and they in turn will teach their own children.

So each generation should set its hope anew on God,

   not forgetting his glorious miracles

   and obeying his commands.

Then they will not be like their ancestors—

   stubborn, rebellious, and unfaithful,

   refusing to give their hearts to God.

Psalm 78:1-8

I love how this passage shows that God's heart for the individual is to weave him/her into His bigger story. An individual's faith, though personal, becomes connected to a much larger picture that brings in generation after generation. Faith becomes a family affair as the telling of testimony links one generation to the next. The chain grows, the legacy lengthens, God's family extends from “even the children not yet born” back to great great great grandparents.

You and I might occupy different places on this family tree of faith. Maybe Christ has been Lord in your family for generations, but in my family faith has just started with me. No matter where we fit into the bigger picture, we can both commit today to being the parents this passage tells about - parents that will teach their children about God and propagate the chain of faith.

Dear LORD, make me a mother that will tell my children and their generation about Your glorious deeds. May I never hide truth, by omission or lack of boldness, but rather speak often of Your power and mighty wonders. Starting even with me, may the generations that follow each choose to set their hope completely on God. Build a family of faith that will obey Your commands and never forget Your glorious miracles. In Jesus’ name, amen.