How to Start Family Devotions

To listen to the podcast episode for this post click below:

As Christian parents, helping our children know and serve Jesus is one of our highest callings and privileges.

God has given us access to our children’s hearts.  He designed family as the perfect framework for parents to nurture the souls of their children for Him.

If it’s your desire to pass on your faith to your children, be encouraged. I believe God plants this desire deep into the hearts of His daughters.  And He always gives us enough grace to accomplish His will. 

Discipleship takes time and proximity.  In order to disciple someone you must spend time with them. You can’t disciple them from afar.  Jesus spent time with His disciples.  He preached to large crowds but drew His 12 disciples close and taught them after the crowds had left.

I didn’t grow up in a Christian home, but I grew up going to church.  In church I learned how Christians were supposed to act and live. But the pull, the draw, the pressure of this world to conform seemed impossible for me to resist.  I was taught truth, but I wasn’t discipled.  Discipleship is when someone takes time to get involved in a person’s life and shows them how to live the Christian life.

When I had my own children, this was an area I prayed about often.  I wanted to disciple my children and help them develop their own relationship with Jesus, a real relationship that will last after they leave my home.  I knew I couldn’t do this by my own means. I believed if God had called me to this task He would show me the way. And He always has.  Little by little. Prayer by prayer. 

The Holy Spirit is Your Helper

Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you how to reach the hearts and minds of your children for Him.  He is the one who opens hearts and minds to receive spiritual truth.  Jesus said in John 14:26, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirt, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”

One of the keys to passing on your faith to your children is spending time teaching them about God and instructing them in His Word.

One effective strategy for doing this is to consistently have family devotions.  Devotions are times when you read God’s Word with your children, pray together and share your heart and love for God with them.

Family devotions are times when we can pass on our faith to our children.  

Different Ages, Different Stages

I like to think of devotions as spiritual meals.  As a mama, it sometimes feels like all I do is cook.  My family is always hungry.  But the meals I’ve fed them over the years have changed.

As newborn babies, I gave them milk.  Milk was all their little tummies could digest and it had all the nutrients they needed to grow. 

The same is true of the first spiritual meals I gave them.  Before they could sit up, I was singing songs over my babies.  I prayed God’s Word over them.  I whispered loving words about God into their ears. It was all they could digest at the time and it was just what they needed.   It was milk.  It was pure love.  It was enough. 

As they grew and could sit in my lap, we tried new things, baby food.  They sat on my lap and tried to clap with me as I sang.  I read to them out of Bible storybooks. (But they really just wanted to chew them.)  I still prayed and loved on them.  It was appropriate for their stage of growth, and it was good.

As toddlers they could eat finger foods.  I read them short Bible stories.  They tried to sing hymns and songs with me.  They looked more closely at the pictures in the Bible storybooks and understood more.

Soon they were eating chicken nuggets and carrot sticks.  They listened to longer stories and memorized scriptures.  We talked about godly principles like forgiveness, sharing, love, and obedience.  

As big kids they could eat much of the same food we did, just cut up into smaller pieces so they wouldn’t choke.  We read from a real Bible, prayed for others, and had great discussions.  They asked good questions and could understand more complex principles.  

Now, as teenagers, they are moving towards independence.  We still enjoy having meals together and they eat the same food we do.  Sometimes they even make their own meals.  The same is also true with their spiritual food.  They’re taking ownership of their own beliefs and testing the things we’ve taught them over the years.  They read their Bibles and pray without being prompted.  But we still make time to read the Bible and pray together.

Soon they will be adults, responsible for themselves and making their own decisions.  Hopefully, we’ve helped them develop good habits and appetites that will keep them healthy, physically and spiritually, for the rest of their lives.  

Give Them Your Example and Your Words

Our children will learn a lot from our lifestyle and how we live.  The atmosphere of our home and the way we walk out our own relationship with Jesus before our children are very important.  No doubt! They are like sponges soaking up everything they see and hear.

If we are teaching them one way and living another, if our words are not congruent with our lifestyle, then our words will leave no lasting impression on them for good.  Actually, they may have a negative effect. So we must live true to what we say we believe and what we teach them. Nothing is more powerful than a living example of genuine faith.

But they also need to hear our words.  They need to hear our words so they know how to put into their own words the things that are true about God.

Our children need us to plainly tell them the things God has done for them and what He requires of them.  We shouldn’t just hope they figure it out by living in a home with Christian parents.  They need us to make the path clear so they can walk in it.

When we give them our words we help them form a God mindset and develop a Biblical worldview.

We don’t just talk with words, we also think with words.  So when we give them the right words we help them to think the right thoughts.

Devotions are times when we can share our words about God with our children.  

Our family devotions have changed many times over the years.  I’ve never felt like I’ve done them “right.”  But I’ve seen fruit just the same.  The goal isn’t to have perfect devotions but to have consistent times together talking about God.  

What Should We Talk About

There are no right or wrong ways to have family devotionals, though some ways will work better for you and your family than others.  It depends on your personality, the personalities of your children, their ages, and your family dynamics. Also, it takes time to establish the habit and set clear expectations.  Don’t be discouraged if things don’t flow well at first.  That doesn’t mean you’re doing something wrong.  You’re training your children (and yourself) how to have family devotions.  It takes time and patience.

Thankfully, there are so many good resources to help us share God’s Word with our families.  When I first started having devotions in a group setting, I found it easier to follow a devotional guide that was all written out for me. It provided the topic, the scriptures, and the words I needed to say.  There are so many good devotional guides to help you get started. Over the years I’ve used many.

One of my favorites has been Our 24 Family Ways by Clay & Sally Clarkson.  I’ve used this devotional three separate times over the years.  Each time I’ve gone a little more in-depth as was appropriate for my kid’s ages at the time. It’s a great resource.

Kenneth Taylor is the author of The Living Bible but he also wrote many great Bible resources and devotionals for kids. All the resources I’ve used by him have been excellent.  Search for him on Amazon.

We also enjoyed The Children’s Bible in 365 Stories by Mary Batchelor and John Haysom.  It has short stories for short attention spans.  It took us a year and a half to finish this one but my children didn’t lose interest.

The Child’s Story Bible by Catherine Vos is one of my favorites.  I learned so much about the Bible myself from this children’s Bible.  It makes the stories of the Bible come alive.  It doesn’t have many illustrations and the ones it does have are older, but it’s beautifully written.  

These are just a few of our favorite resources and authors.  I’ll share a longer list with you later.

But you don’t need a devotional guide to have great devotions with your kids. Make a list of themes or topics you want to cover with them.  Then find five or six scripture verses that speak to that topic.  Cover each topic for one week.  Use one verse daily to start your devotion and discuss it with your children.  Ask them questions. Pray together. That’s all you need to do.  Over the years we’ve discussed all kinds of topics including forgiveness, being thankful, courage, giving, obeying and so many more.  

You could start with the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 8 (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control).  This will take you through eight weeks worth of devotions.  

When to Have Devotions

I like to tie devotions to something that happens in our house every day. That way everyone knows what to expect and it becomes a routine.  When my kids were young we usually had devotions during breakfast.  They could pay attention to me and eat.  But eating kept them too busy to argue with each other!  

Other good times for devotions are lunch, before nap time, after dinner, or before bedtime.  Try different times and see what works best for you.  

A Few More Thoughts

I encourage you to make devotion times enjoyable, or as enjoyable as possible.  Meals are nice because who doesn’t like food, right?  And eating gives them something to do with their hands besides hitting or touching each other.  If you expect them to sit perfectly still and be enthralled by every word, you will be very disappointed and frustrated.  I made this mistake for too long. 

Try to laugh with them and enjoy this time together.  They will be grown and gone before you know it.

Keep your devotions short.  Don’t go on and on. You will lose their attention and invite inattention.  That will leave you frustrated.  

Try to keep it as natural as possible. 

In Deuteronomy 6:6-7 Moses tells the people to teach God’s commandments to their children.  He says, “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down and when you rise.”  

We can talk to God and about Him throughout our day, on the way to the grocery store or school, during meals, when we’re going to bed, anytime.  My goal is to make talking about God a normal part of our lives.

If your children are young, it will take a while to train them in what you expect during devotions. You are laying the groundwork for longer and more focused devotions later.  It’s hard work.  It can be frustrating.  Often it will look like chaos and feel like no one is listening.  But all the work you do while they are young will pay off when they get older.

Chaos is very possible.  Don’t let that stop you.  When you know it’s part of the process it helps you try again the next day.

Some days you will have wonderful moments when everything just flows.  You need to remember those times. They will be your encouragement to try again on days when things don’t go as planned.

Some days your kids will say the most hilarious and off-the-wall things, and they aren’t even trying to be funny.  Write those things down in your journal so you can remember them later.  You will be glad you did.

I hope these words have encouraged you or inspired you to start your own devotional routine in your home if you haven’t already.  I know you won’t regret it.  If you have any questions about our family devotions please ask.  I’d be glad to answer them.  

It has been such a blessing to see our children grow up in God’s Word and grow in faith and wisdom. And I know it’s all been by God’s grace. 

God Bless!

© Audrey McCracken, 2023

If you found this article helpful and you’d like to say thanks, click here to buy Audrey a coffee.