Which of the following are similar to the ways you've served Christ in your family? [check all that apply]
• Taught your kids to see God's glory in nature
• Washed the dishes without being asked
• Played a board game with your kids
• Encouraged your wife to finish her master's degree
• Attended a child's open house at school
• Worked fewer hours to be with your family
• Set an example of a godly prayer life for your children
• Held a crying child
• Swung on the tire swing with your daughter
• Told your wife why you're still in love with her
• Told your son he's got what it takes
• Coached soccer
• Let you child correct you now and then
• Fixed the vacuum cleaner
• Taught your sons to ride a bike
• Listened patiently to a complaint of your wife
• Taped your child's artwork to your office wall
• Admitted to your kids that you were wrong
• Told your children how Christ entered your life
• Cleaned up vomit
• Taught your children to love books
• Been romantic without expecting sex
• Told your daughter she's smart/beautiful
• Set standards for your kids and stuck to them
• Dealt graciously with a busybody neighbor
• Peeled carrots
• Watched movies together
Pray First, Act Later Theme for this Week: Prayer Cover Monday, May 13, 2002
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May/June 200253Pray First, Act LaterTheme for this Week: Prayer Cover Pray First, Act Later Theme for this Week: Prayer Cover Monday, May 13
Key Bible Verse: We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps (Proverbs 16:9). Bonus Reading:Proverbs 16:1, 3; 19:21; 20:24
The magazine ad for the media company read: "Before deciding on a strategy, developing a plan, or negotiating a deal, we indulge in a nearly forgotten ritual. Thinking."
Has that become true for you? In this cell-phone- and e-mail-driven world in which we live, can you afford the time to think? Can you afford not to? More importantly, substitute praying for thinking in the ad copy.
What can you do to counteract the tendency to act first and pray later? A few tips:
Start your day that way. Before your feet hit the floor, ask God to order your steps through the day.
Snack on some Scripture. Keep your Bible handy. There's no better business reference book ever printed.
One more thing, Daddy. Children have a way of stretching the day when it's time for lights out. If you've lost that feeling of "hanging on for a few more minutes" with your heavenly Father, seek to rekindle the flame at day's end.
So, instead of thinking first, try praying, for starters. I'll guarantee your thinking not only will be more productive, but you'll also find yourself more closely aligned with the Father's will.
—Bob Peters in Life@Work
My Response: Today, I'll work on a reflex of turning to God first.
Thought to Apply: Let prayer be the key of the morning and the bolt of the evening. —Matthew Henry (English pastor, Bible commentator, 18th century)
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