The Hollywood Prayer Network On FathersSample
HONOR YOUR FATHER
"My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person: He believed in me." Jim Valvano
PRAY: Abba Father, I praise You for giving me an amazing father. He showed me Your love as I grew up and I am able to share that love now with others. It was easy for me to honor him and I have truly reaped the results with a long life in the land that You have given me. But I want to pray for the people around me who haven't experienced the love of their fathers. Would you help them to learn how to honor their fathers so that they may live long and have it go well in the land you gave them. And I know, Lord, that You will heal broken fathers as You help their children, honor them and show them love as You love us! Help us all to understand the importance of honoring our fathers, how to love them more deeply, to forgive them, to support them, and to be patient with them. We all need Your help to love our fathers the way You have commanded us! Amen and Amen
REFLECT: Have you considered how hard it must be for angry, hurting, broken children of all ages to try to follow this commandment to honor their father? And what does Honor mean, in this context? We don't have to be best friends with them, spend lots of time with them hanging out, or even obey everything they say. The dictionary definition defines honor as "high respect; great esteem." That's easy for great fathers, but what about abusive fathers? The 2nd definition says, "adherence to what is right or to a conventional standard of conduct." If your father was deeply hurtful, then as a believer, you should adhere to a right standard of conduct by not gossiping against him, dissing him or getting revenge, but honoring the position of father, maybe, versus his choices. The 3rd definition is to "fulfill an obligation or a contract." In that case, even if your father breaks the contract with you, you should still keep your end of the contract by praying for him while keeping your safe boundaries. These are all things to think about regarding your relationship with your own father.
ACT: Which of the definitions of HONOR fits your relationship with your father? Reread today's "Reflect" and ask the Lord to reveal to you if you are truly honoring your father. If so, then ask Him if there is anything else you can do to honor your dad. If not, ask the Lord what you have to do to honor your father in a biblical way. Since God your Heavenly Father knows you and your father so well, turn to Him for guidance, definition and direction on how you can fully honor your Father.
SONGS - THANK THAT MAN
Scripture
About this Plan
This is the first time I have used so many verses in my devotional and it’s because there are so many verses in the Bible about FATHERS! This is a crucial issue in our nation and God knows it. Spend this week understanding our Heavenly Father’s view of our earthly fathers, and in the process become better mothers and fathers.
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We would like to thank Hollywood Prayer Network for providing this plan. For more information, please visit: http://hollywoodprayernetwork.org