“Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it” (Ps 127:1).
The Hebrew words ben (son), bath (daughter), and beith (house) all come from the same root banah, “to build.” The West seems to have forgotten that families are the building blocks of a nation. And the notion that the Lord is the Master Builder of our families is essential.
As the delegates of 13 colonies met in Philadelphia in the summer of 1776, confusion reigned. Finally, they turned to Ben Franklin for advice. He said, “I have lived a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth, that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His will, is it possible for an empire to rise without His notice? We have been assured in the Sacred Writing that except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it.” He then suggested a season of prayer, and the rest is history. We would be wise to do this as well—for our nation and our families.