Practice makes perfect ~ since about 1560 or so this has been an accepted saying. We also accept it in practice. When we want our children to do well at sports or dance we tell them they need to practice. We schedule their practices. We cancel other things to make time for them to practices. We even pay for them to practice. Sometimes, we pay more for them to practice with certain coaches or trainers. Practice makes perfect.. we do something over and over again so that we become better at it.
This is one of the reasons we sit with our children in church. We know that worship is one of the things we will do in heaven for eternity. We want them to do it well. To worship in spirit and truth. We sit near the front of the church so we can pay attention. We pay attention to the children. We pay attention to the sermon. We teach the children to pay attention to the sermon. No, they do not always sit still and quiet. They don't always behave the way I want them to behave. However, we are practicing worship. We will be perfect at it in heaven.
On this side of eternity, we want them to learn to be still and know. We want them to enter His gates with thanksgiving and enter His courts with praise. We want them to choose the one needful thing and sit at the feet of Jesus. We want them to pay attention to God's word. We want them to participate as a member of the body of Christ. We want to teach them to worship by our example. Church is a foundation of our family. We go to church.. every Sunday. We want our children to know that it is important. We talk about the sermon. We want them to process and apply the word of God. We read the Bible. We want them to read the Bible. We pray. We want them to pray. Practice.. so they know how. Example so they see it modeled.
We "know" these principles on the sports field or in the dance studio. We leave behind these principles in the church pew. Why? Because we need to worship. We need to pay attention. Well, I submit that God has blessed me with children and one of the most important things I can teach them... is to worship. Their worship is important to God, too. Childlike faith.. that is the faith we are called to. Worship with children helps me to experience this type of faith. To pay attention to my children and train them allows me to pay better attention to worship. It requires that I pay attention to what worship really means, how it should really be practiced and how our family trains for it.
Practice requires doing the same thing over and over again. Practice requires caring every time you do it. Practice requires attention every time you do it. Practice requires perseverance. So we weekly bring our children to a church pew, bow our heads, close our eyes, read scripture, pray, listen, praise, look inward, examine our hearts, fellowship and encourage our children to do the same. We bring them to practice our Christian disciplines. We practice worship in our homes. We want to worship our God who is worthy of our worship. We want our children to know, love and worship our God. We want to disciple them in their relationships with the Lord. So, we sit with them in pews and we practice.
What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
Philippians 4:9
