“You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way and when you lie down, and when you rise.” Deuteronomy 11:18-19
I love this verse.
Every time I read it I always feel convicted and encouraged. Convicted because of the ways I fall short of what God wants from me as a mother and follower of him. Encouraged because it gives me God’s perspective and the simple desire he has for His people: to love His words, t remember them, and teach them always to our children.
So how can we do that? I'll be honest, most of the time I have no idea! Sometimes I find myself thinking the only, best path includes formal family devotions and deep discussions about theology. My kids are only four and seven and I feel this pressure!
But maybe God's design for such things is actually more organic and natural. This verse from Deuteronomy gives an image of a constant conversation that flows from us to our children, always pointing them back to the Lord. For us as parents to have this ever-flowing conversation, we ourselves need to be bathing our hearts and minds in scripture.
As I write these words I feel convicted because I know I have numerous opportunities to teach and direct my kids to Christ, and if I'm honest and look back on my days, I don’t take a lot of them. It’s work. It takes constant thought, prayer and intention to live this way. Its not for the lazy or complacent of heart. We need to be reading God’s word and cherishing the truths that are in it. We need to be regularly gathering with God’s people and worshiping together, praying together and praising Him together, so when we talk and sit and walk by the way with our kids, God’s word will be so familiar that it won’t be a daunting task to teach to our children.
Here are a few practical suggestions for us as parents - steps any of us can take even today to help instill an intrinsic love for God's word in our kids' hearts. Just a disclaimer, though: as you’re reading this, please know that my husband, Josh, and I have often fallen short of consistently doing the things I’m recommending! I write this to spur myself on, too! These are all great ideas that I’ve either heard from wise friends or read from author/speaker Paul Tripp that we are striving to implement in our everyday lives. I just feel that it's important to stress that my husband and I don't always have this all lined up and figured out. There is grace abundant for us all, so don't be discouraged if you feel like your family has a long way to go. We all do, and we would all be remiss if we weren't aiming to walk closer with the Lord with each passing day.
5 Steps Parents Can Take To Help Instill a Love for God's Word Into the Hearts of Our Children
1. Read the Bible regularly.
Pick a designated time every day (or most days) to read scripture to your kids, or have quiet time for them (and you!) read on their own.
One thing that can greatly help in this endeavor is making sure each child has their own Bible - whether it's a picture storybook-style bible for little ones, or a "real" Bible for your bigger kids, make sure each of your children has their own bible and encourage them to read it for a few minutes every day (or reading it with them/to them). My son, Noah, is seven and for a while I was concerned by the little interest he showed in wanting to learn more about the Bible. We attend church services every Sunday and Wednesday evening, so my kids are hearing the truth often there, but I wanted him to have a desire to read on his own at home, away from church and school. My mom gave him his own Bible (with his name on it) last fall, and he was so excited to have his very own Bible that he would wake up three mornings a week and read for about five to ten minutes. It wasn’t long, but it was something - and he had the desire to do it. I had never thought that him having his own Bible would motivate him so much to read on his own. It felt like a victory among many defeats.
2. Memorize Scripture as a family.
Choose a scripture verse or passage to memorize as a family, even if it’s just one verse every other week. This summer, both of my kids each learned and memorized a verse at VBS and they were so excited that they did! At Veritas, memorization is such a huge part of grammar school coursework, and it turns learning into a joyful challenge for these kids. Younger kids' brains are sponges, and not only are they good at memorizing, but they love it (especially when you include the whole body with motions and such). Its also great for my hubs and I to memorize scripture; after all, as the Psalmist says: "your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You." Making scripture memorization part of your family's routine helps each of you in the battle against the enemy!
3. Sing hymns together.
Singing hymns or turning verses into a well-known nursery rhyme song together as a family is another great way to help kids internalize and love God's truths.
So, I feel cheesy doing this sometimes, but my kids really enjoy it...and oh, how I love hearing them sing them in the bath tub or while playing Legos. These are good things for them to have on their minds and in their memory as they grow up. Plus, it helps them participate more fully in your church's corporate worship times, since they will know the songs and enjoy singing along! After Noah's kindergarten class learned the hymn "In Christ Alone," his eyes (and his voice) would light up when we did it in our church service!
4. Pray with your kids and for your kids.
Before bed, my husband and I pray for our kids (with them), and sometimes it’s done hurriedly with the idea of alone time being so close (yet so far). Other times, it's done more eloquently and thoroughly.
About a year ago I was talking to a friend of mine about how I felt as though our kids were not really interested or excited about prayer. This friend said to me that, at the stage they’re in, our goal should be to show them that God is worth praying to. I realized that I needed to lower my expectations of my young children. Since then, we’ve tried to be genuine in our prayer with our kids. Not using big, carefully crafted words, but simply having a sincere, thankful heart for who He is and all He does for us and His people. We also may ask them who we should pray for that night as well, letting them take ownership of their prayer times and helping them to love others through intercessory prayer. No matter what, we keep it simple and real.
5. Be transparent with your kids.
This goes for both our strongest and weakest points in our personal walks with God. It means being transparent about the joys we have in our relationship with Christ, and about our shortcomings and sin.
Apologizing to our kids when we have sinned against them is wonderful way to bring them back man’s depravity and the power of the cross. It opens a door to great conversations with our kids and brings trust in to our relationship and allows them to be honest about their own sin.
At the same time, share your victories with your kids. Rejoice with them in answered prayers, in small daily moments of praise for His goodness, and in the ways He blesses you. Be on the lookout daily for how the Lord is working in the world around you, and be sure to point those things out to your kids.
Being a disciple is hard. There's a reason Jesus said it requires denying ourselves and taking up our cross (Matthew 16:24). In our culture, it is an exercise in endurance, a constant walk up an escalator going down. Complacency is ever-looming, and it's be easy to become lazy in our faith and hard to resist temptation. I think its good for our kids to know that we also sometimes struggle with being a faithful follower of Christ and that we have times of doubt and discouragement (I know I do). It can be a lesson to them that our faithfulness is not dependent on our salvation, but God’s faithfulness is, and he is always faithful.
Above all, as you parent and teach your precious ones, always cling to Him who is a perfect parent and our heavenly Father.
Want some useful tools to help your family jump into these steps today? Check out our Family Discipleship Toolkit, with FREE printables like a weekly prayer guide poster, family hymnal and scripture study sheets and activities to help you implement these suggestions and help your whole family grow in your walk with the Lord!
