“We will go ... with our sons and with our daughters ... for we must hold a feast unto the Lord.” Exodus 10:9
“With wives and children ... we kneeled down on the shore, and prayed.” Acts 21:5
“I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord.” Psalm 122:1
Although there are many things we can provide our children at home, one thing we cannot give them is the presence of the Lord in the midst. When there was a prayer meeting for Paul on the beach, the wives and children were there and knelt with the men. To be gathered to His name and to sit in His presence with other believers gathered to the Lord’s name is a wonderful privilege. Do our children see us joyful at the prospect of seeing the Lord, or stressed out at the demand on our time? Undoubtedly as young moms it is difficult to find time for everything, but hopefully our children will not think (or discover!) that we feel going to meeting is a chore, something we do because it is a duty rather than because it is a joy.
It may be discouragingly difficult to concentrate in meeting when we are trying to keep our children quiet. It can help to train them to sit still in the privacy of our Bible readings at home (which God asks us to have — Deut. 11:19). Then it is easier to drink in God’s word ourselves at meeting, and there is a greater likelihood our children will listen to the Word as well. Our Lord tells us, “O my dove, ... let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely” (Song of Sol. 2:14). He wants to see both us and our children in His presence.