Psalm 78:4

We will not hide them from their children,
Telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD,
And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done.

While we shouldn’t display empty ritual for the purpose of showing our children how spiritual we are, there is a sense where it is good and right to be transparent when God truly works in our lives. I think it is right to allow some of our normally private spiritual life to be public for this reason.

This feels awkward. Right after the Pharisee post, I prayed for breakfast with the children. After we say thank you for the food, I usually pray for them (obedience or kindness), to be a blessing to any particular people we will see that day, and then for me. I want my children to understand that talking to God isn’t simply a ritual prayer (God is great. God is good.)

Now, normally when I pray for myself, I pray in the affirmative, as in Help mommy to get her work done, to be diligent, give mommy wisdom in situation X, and so on. This morning, my heart had been stirred to repentance by God’s word, and my natural inclination was to thank God for this gift, but because I was praying out loud, I found it difficult to actually say, “Thank you for your gift of repentance for my selfishness.”

I found it interesting that I could easily (by practice) say, “Help me not to be lazy” but find difficulty saying, “Thank you for helping mommy to see she was wrong to be lazy”

There’s a lot I don’t know… how transparent should I be? How deliberate should my transparency be? should I have specific thoughts/ facets of spiritual life that I want to share with my children in response to their needs, or should it be completely spontaneous? perhaps if I’m aware of the needs of my children (lack of understanding that confession is a part of prayer), God will give me the opportunity to model it (and the grace to recognize the opportunity).

Guess I need more wisdom… and I know where that comes from.

That the generation to come might know them,
The children who would be born,
That they may arise and declare them to their children,
That they may set their hope in God,
And not forget the works of God,
But keep His commandments;

Psalm 78:6-7

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Filed under: Humility, Mealtime, Prayer