Praying For Families
Day 13 - October 9, 2024
Dave and Ann Wilson Hosts of FamilyLife Today nationally-syndicated radio program. View Website
Devotion For Day 13
Wives, understand and support your husbands by submitting to them in ways that honor the Master. Husbands, go all out in love for your wives. Don’t take advantage of them. Children, do what your parents tell you. This delights the Master no end. Parents, don’t come down too hard on your children or you’ll crush their spirits
God has a divine design for families. The passage in Colossians covers everything quite simply. We all know that God-designed families are under assault in our culture today. In fact, there are many who are attempting to dismantle the traditional family structure completely. It’s true that families look very different today than they did a few short decades ago. However, what hasn’t changed is the way God intends for families to function.
The assault is filled with deceptive lies that culture wants to embed into the hearts and minds of every person: Men are toxic, women are abused by toxic men, marriage is a form of bondage, and children are disposable.
Here are some facts from the Pew Research Center and the Census Bureau:
- “In 1960, just 5% of all births occurred outside of marriage. By 1970, this share had doubled to 11%, and by 2000 fully one-third of births occurred to unmarried women. Currently, it’s around 40%.
- “While marriages are less stable than they once were, they remain more stable than cohabiting unions. … About one in five children born within a marriage will experience the breakup of that marriage by age 9. In comparison, fully half of children born within a cohabiting union will experience the breakup of their parents by the same age”.
- “Today 28 percent of households have just one person living in them—an increase from 13 percent in 1960”.
Creator God, You designed families perfectly to function in love and not chaos. Thank You that Your Word is very clear about our roles as husbands, wives, and children. Protect us from the deceptive lies of the enemy that assault our families from every area of society! Keep us strong in the truth of Your Word! Forgive us for our failures in our relationships and homes, and help us to reflect the image of Christ in our homes
Prayer Topics
- Pray that God will strengthen Christian homes to be an example and a light to those who have never experienced a loving family.
- Ask the Father to protect your home from the attacks of the enemy who wants to see all families damaged and destroyed.
- Pray that the families in your church will be godly examples to those apart from Christ.
- Pray that the nuclear family structure is once again honored and recognized as God’s perfect design for life in our nation.
- Pray that parents and children will honor the instructions of the Lord and that their relationships will be holy, pure, and respectful.
