Acts 16:31, “They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved— you and your household.”

Salvation is a personal decision that can only be made by an individual who desires to place their full trust in the gospel of Jesus Christ.  At the same time, God “wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth,”1 Timothy 2:4.  Therefore, it should be the heart and passion of every true born again believer to pray for their whole family to be saved.

As a pastor I have literally seen entire families come to faith in Jesus Christ.  Sometimes I’ve seen salvation just start with the daughter and then the parents and aunts receive Christ.  Other times I’ve witnessed when the father accepted Jesus, he made such an impact on his family that everyone in the whole house was led to the Lord- the wife and four kids!

I’ve also seen a faithful woman of God serve Jesus while everyone in their family rejected Him and then “all of a sudden” the walls broke down and her family came to Jesus!  As a result, we should never stop believing and praying for God to save our whole household.

For those of us who live in a house where everyone is saved we shouldn’t stop just with our house, we should believe God to save all of our relatives and extended family members.  Plus, we should be in regular prayer for the families in our neighborhood and on our jobs.

Here are some great ways to have a gospel centered home, (a) Make family devotions a must- teach your children Scriptures and Bible stories, (b) Always keep your house accountable to serving Jesus- don’t let pornography, drugs, or bad influences in your home, (c) At family meals and gathering always pray and share something from God’s Word that stirs the heart, (d) When extended family comes over have your children recite their memory verses to them and then share are the gospel, and (e) Do gospel outreaches together with the whole family- I love to bring my kids with me to the parks when I preach!

Lift Jesus up in your family and He will draw everyone to Himself, John 12:32!

Reflection

Do you believe God desires to save you and your whole household?

Action

  1. Pray daily for everyone in your house to be saved if they are not already born again.
  2. Pray for everyone in your extended family to come to faith in Jesus.
  3. Regularly make time to preach the gospel in your house and together with your family in public!