Godly Parenting

DEVOTION

THE BOOK OF ACTS

GODLY PARENTING

Acts 21:7-9

7 We continued our voyage from Tyre and landed at Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and stayed with them for a day. 8 Leaving the next day, we reached Caesarea and stayed at the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the Seven. 9 He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.

NIV

Why do we want to know that Philip had four unmarried daughters who prophesied? Why do we need to know they were unmarried? First we should note this is Philip, the one who testified to the eunuch and was transported supernaturally by the Spirit. He must have settled in Caesarea and done very well for himself as being referred to as one of the seven and being an evangelist. We know that Paul told timothy in his letter to him that those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith. This surely must have applied to Philip. Also we might suspect the reason we are told his daughters prophesied is so we would remember the prophet Joel and his prophesy that God would “pour out his Spirit on all men people and your sons and daughters will prophesy”. What we might gain from all this is that Philip must have had a high degree of religion in his household, or we should say a great deal of faith in Christ was displayed in his household and that his daughters are evidence of that. Of course if we go back in this book of Acts we would also find that if Philip was one of the seven, he too would be like Stephen, a man full of faith, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom as this was the instructions of the Apostles to the people, to pick seven men from among them who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. Philip raised his daughters to be women of great faith and full of the Spirit, otherwise they would not be able to prophesy. This certainly is a lesson to all who are the head of their household. To lead their family in service to the Lord, to lead their family to be full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom. We do not know about Philip’s wife, in fact, she is not even mentioned but we have to assume she was a woman of faith as well and also had a great influence upon her daughters. This should serve as an example of Godly parenting.