“We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.  For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children: That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children: That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments:  And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God.” Psalm 78-4-8

In Chronicles, it is said that Asaph was a descendant of Gershom the son of Levi and he is identified as a member of the Levites. He is also known as one of the three Levites commissioned by David to oversee singing in the house of Yahweh.  He wrote many of the Psalms and in this one he is showing how important it is to pass our faith in God down to the next generation, that they might pass it on in turn to their families.  I am sure that Asaph spent many hours in prayer for his children and those that would come after them.e who

In the book of Nehemiah, we can see how those prayers were still being answered many years later.  Nehemiah 11:17 reads: “And Mattaniah the son of Micha, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph, was the principal to begin the thanksgiving in prayer:” Mattaniah is also mentioned in other verses in Nehemiah.  So, we see a man, several generations removed from Asaph, still following in his footsteps in prayer and worship in the Temple.

We never know how far our prayers will reach.  No doubt most of us can look back and remember parents, grandparents and even farther back who loved God and spent time in prayer for their families.  God heard every one of those prayers, stored them up and there are people serving the Lord today because of them.

Our prayers do not die with us, they will continue until the end of time.  That is why we need to take our children and our grandchildren to the Lord in prayer every day.  We pray that the Lord will be with them and with the generations to come.

Also, there may be some young people in your church, who do not have parents and grandparents praying for them.  We can become a spiritual parent to them and take them to the Lord in prayer, that God will keep them and bless them, and bless the families that they will have.

We will never know who prayed for us, maybe many generations ago.  We cannot comprehend how far our prayers will reach in the future.  But we need to be faithful in praying and leave the results with God.

Prayer:  Jesus, we bring our families to you today.  Protect them, bless them and guide them into a relationship with you that they can pass on to the next generation and the next and the next.

Devotion by Anne Johnston

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4 Comments

  1. Jinkwen MYLENE claire

    Amen seigneur, jusqu’à où est ce que mes prière vont telles arrivées. Seigneur aide moi. Merci mama Anne

  2. Allison Skibba

    Thank you so much for this devotional on prayer and how it reaches to generations after us! I have been struggling with the burden that my children and other family members don’t care to hear what I have to say about the Lord. He keeps telling me that all I need to do is live faithfully for Him and to pray!!

  3. Anne Johnston

    I am so glad this was a blessing to you. I felt this on my heart as I read this scripture in Nehemiah. I have unsaved loved ones as well, but I just bring them to the Lord every day, knowing that they are in His hands.