Deuteronomy 6:4-9 reads, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down . . . “

Nighttime is an awesome time to share your faith with your family. When my babies were little, the first song I sung to them at night was “Jesus loves you.” Then I took some old time spirituals like “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” and would sing them to bed at night. I had a deep desire for them to be familiar with the tunes and words of the old spirituals. These writings of the saints of old brought peace in the trying times of my life and I wanted that power of old spiritual music to be available to them, as well. It’s been my experience that every situation calls for praise, but every situation doesn’t call for praise music.

I didn’t pray out loud until I had kids. I made a conscious decision that I would not pass on my fear of praying out loud onto them. So I practiced praying out loud at night with each one. We would begin the night we got their big girl/big boy bed because then, we could kneel beside our beds and pray. I taught them to pray with rhymes at first, but at 5 or 6 years old, I chose to teach them to “tag along” their rhymes and just talk as if God was sitting on the bed.

If you are fearful of praying out loud, I encourage you to make it a matter of prayer and get over it. You are missing out on blessing others in a mighty way.

As you continue to try to get over your fear and find yourself in a group of adults, offer to pray first. Then you don’t have to follow anybody. Just be sure, you pray out loud. And practice with your kids. Let them hear you. There is no truer voice than the one lifted to our Maker.