January 16
Verse of the Day for January 16
And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.Deuteronomy 6:7 KJV
The Key of Beginnings · Day 16 of 31
Reflection · 3 min read
When Thou Sittest In Thine House
Moses is giving Israel the words they are to build a national life on, and having stated them, he immediately becomes practical about where they are to be said.
And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
When thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
That is a list of four ordinary domestic moments, and between them they cover most of a day. Sitting, travelling, going to bed, getting up.
There is no religious hour in the list. No festival, no assembly, no priest. The instruction locates the words of God in the parts of life that have no ceremony attached to them at all.
And the verse before it puts them first in the heart of the person speaking. You cannot talk about them by the way if they are not already in you when you set out.
No festival. No assembly.Sitting, walking, lying down, rising.
Faith that only exists in the religious hour is not being transmitted to anyone, least of all to the people who live with you.
Pick one of the four. Start there.
Carry this today
Which four hours of your day never hear anything about God?
Pray
Read Deuteronomy 6:4–9
4Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 5And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 8And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. 9And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
Keep praying
Reflection by Collins Asein, from the daily devotionals in the PrayerKey app. Bible text: King James Version.