From a letter written by William Penn (Quaker Preacher, author, founder of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania) to his wife. His wife and children had left for the America on Oct 1862. He wrote letters to them for their guidance. Here is an excerpt that shows the importance of family devotionals.

“…be diligent in meetings for worship and business. And let meetings be kept once a day in the family to wait upon the Lord, who has given us much time for ourselves. ….”

(“No Cross, No Crown.” by William Penn)
(“Great Women Of The Christian Faith”, Edith Deen. 1959. p. 366)

“The training Susanna Wesley gave her children is indicated by this letter she wrote to her eldest son Samuel, who became a preacher:

“Consider well what a separation from the world, what purity, what devotion, what expemplary virtue are required in those who are to guide others to glory…I would advice you to arrange your affairs by a certain method, by which means you will learn to improve every precious moment…begin and end each day with Him who is the Alpha and the Omega, and if you really experience what is the love of God, you will redeem all the time you can for His more immediate service. Endeavor to act upon principle and do not live like the rest of mankind, who passes through the world like straws upon a river, which are carried which way the stream or the wind drive them…Get as deep an impression on your mind as is possible of the constant presence of the great and holy God. He is about our beds and about our paths and spies out all our ways. Whenever you are tempted to the commission of sin, or the omission of any duty, pause and say to yourself, ‘What am I about to do? God sees me.”

In her ‘household school,’ for six hours a day through twenty years, she taught her children so thoroughly that they became unusually cultured. There were not one of them in whom she did not instill a passion for learning and righteousness.

When her son John became a noted man, he begged her to write down some details of the education of her children, to which she reluctantly consented. She confessed, ‘No one can, without renouncing the world in the most literal sense, observe my method. There are few, if any, who would devote about twenty years of the prime of life in hopes to save the souls of their children.’

She began to train her children by a rather strict method of living as soon as they were born. From their birth she also began to train their wills, making them realize they must obey their parents. They were even taught to cry softly, to eat or drink whatever was given them. Drinking or eating between meals was never allowed, unless they were sick.

At age six, as soon as the family prayers were over, they had their supper. At eight they were put to bed and told to go to sleep. ‘No such thing was allowed in our house,’ this mother reports, ‘as sitting by a child till it fell asleep.’ The loud noise children generally make was seldom heard in the Wesley house. Laughter and play, on the other hand were common sounds.

The spiritual welfare of her children mattered most to Susanna. She gave them an appreciation of the things of the spirit, and this teaching she carried on into their more mature years. Even when she was an old woman, her son John still came to his devout mother for counsel.

Not to Methodists alone but to the whole world Susanna Wesly gave a new freedom of faith, a new spark of vital religion and a new intimacy with God.
It is no wonder that this mother who so often prayed, ‘Grant me grace, O Lord, to be wholly a Christian,’ should produce a great Christian like John Wesley. ‘Help me, Lord,’ she prayed, ‘to remember that religion is not to be confined to the church or closet, nor exercised only in prayer and meditation, but that I am everywhere in Thy Presence.’”

(“Great Women Of The Christian Faith”, Edith Deen. 1959. p. 142-144)

Ruth Bell Graham, wife of evangelist Billy Graham, She was born to missionary parents in Tsingkiang, China, in 1920, where she was raised in staunch Presbyterian piety, with daily doses of private and family devotions and being expected to memorize large portions of the Bible.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/juneweb-only/124-43.0.html

The following is and exerpt from Franklin Graham’s autobiography, “Rebel With A Cause.” In it he explains Ruth Graham’s daily spiritual life as she raised her kids.

“Though my folks insisted we go to church every Sunday, as far back as I can remember, my parents never crammed religion down my throat. They did try to instill in all of us kids the importance of a personal relationship with God. Every evening our family had devotions before we went to bed.  Mama or Daddy would read a short passage from the Bible and then we would each say a sentence prayer. In the morning, Mama or Daddy would lead us in prayer before we left the house for school. It  didn’t matter who was in the house at the time – our housekeeper, caretaker, or guests – it was something everyone did in our home. I can’t remember a day when this didn’t happen.

My parents also encouraged us to memorize Scripture verses. One of the ways they did this was on Sunday after church and lunch, before we could go out to play, we had to memorize a verse and recite it to Mama, almost word perfect. She did make a few exceptions. When we complained that the verses were too difficult, she let us pick our own. She didn’t care as long as it was the Word of God. This got us reading the Bible to find short verses such as ‘Jesus wept.’ It didn’t bother Mama. Mama and Daddy believed that the time would come when their children would need the strength of God that comes through his word. They knew that one day we would be out on our own;  yet God would always be with us. And they were right.

I didn’t mind the devotions, especially at night, because Mama often told stories from the Bible and mixed them with her own experiences from growing up in China.”

“Rebel With A Cause” Frankin Graham. 1995 pages 8-9.