A puritan prayer on the family

As I read this prayer from Valley of Vision I thought of  both my immediate family and our future family. Here is some of it for you to read and maybe even pray through.

O God, I cannot endure to see the destruction

     of my kindred.

Let those that are united to me in tender ties

    be precious in thy sight and devoted to thy glory.

Sanctify and prosper my domestic devotion,

     instruction, discipline, example,

     that my house may be a nursery for heaven,

     my church the garden of the Lord,

        enriched with trees of righteousness of

            thy planting, for thy glory;

Let not those of my family who are amiable, moral,

     attractive,

     fall short of heaven at last;

Grant that the promising appearances of a

       tender conscience,

     soft heart, the alarms and delights of thy Word,

     be not finally blotted out,

     but bring forth judgment unto victory

        in all whom I love.

Isn’t it beautiful? I love the part about the house being a “nursery for heaven.”