Power of Prayer
399
holy angels in your home. Remember that your dear ones are exposed
to temptations
In our efforts for the comfort and happiness of guests, let us not
overlook our obligations to God. The hour of prayer should not be
neglected for any consideration. Do not talk and amuse yourselves
till all are too weary to enjoy the season of devotion. To do this is to
present to God a lame offering. At an early hour of the evening, when
we can pray unhurriedly and understandingly, we should present our
[521]
supplications and raise our voices in happy, grateful praise.
Let all who visit Christians see that the hour of prayer is the most
precious, the most sacred, and the happiest hour of the day. These
seasons of devotion exert a refining, elevating influence upon all who
participate in them. They bring a peace and rest grateful to the spirit
Children to Respect the Worship Hour—Your children should
be educated to be kind, thoughtful of others, gentle, easy to be en-
treated, and, above everything else, to respect religious things and feel
the importance of the claims of God. They should be taught to respect
the hour of prayer; they should be required to rise in the morning so as
to be present at family worship
Make the Worship Period Interesting—The father, who is the
priest of his household, should conduct the morning and evening wor-
ship. There is no reason why this should not be the most interesting
and enjoyable exercise of the home life, and God is dishonored when
it is made dry and irksome. Let the seasons of family worship be short
and spirited. Do not let your children or any member of your family
dread them because of their tediousness or lack of interest. When
a long chapter is read and explained and a long prayer offered, this
precious service becomes wearisome, and it is a relief when it is over.
It should be the special object of the heads of the family to make
the hour of worship intensely interesting. By a little thought and
careful preparation for this season, when we come into the presence
of God, family worship can be made pleasant and will be fraught with
results that eternity alone will reveal. Let the father select a portion of
[522]
Scripture that is interesting and easily understood; a few verses will
be sufficient to furnish a lesson which may be studied and practiced
12
The Ministry of Healing, 393
.
13
Messages to Young People, 342
.
14
Testimonies For The Church 5:424
.