Christian parents often feel overwhelmed. They are already expected to parent in ways that run counter to the culture in which they are raising their kids. They feel an urgency about teaching their children about God and helping them build strong spiritual foundations. Then they read a blog or hear a speaker talk about the importance of daily family devotionals.
Many of you are probably wondering, are family devotionals really necessary? After all, many of you are living a Christian life style and grew up in homes that never had a family devotional. With school and all of the activities your children have, there’s barely time to eat. Your kids fall in bed exhausted after doing homework way past a healthy bed time. How are you supposed to fit in a family devotional?
We need to change our mindset as Christians and Christian parents. We aren’t giving our kids nice little extras by taking them to church and teaching them about God at home. We are preparing them for battle against Satan.
It may sound overly dramatic to you, but go turn on your television set and randomly watch a few minutes of a dozen or so channels. That is a small sample of the culture Satan will use to convince your kids to reject God.
When a country’s military prepares soldiers for war, the training is intense. Growing up around military bases, I heard all sorts of stories of the extreme intensity of boot camp alone. Often there is additional training later for special units that is so intense, some soldiers have died in training exercises.
Your kids don’t need that physical training to have unshakeable faith foundations and reach their godly potential. They do however, need spiritual training that is thorough, constant and ongoing. That is why family devotionals are so important.
Think of them as a spiritual meal. If your kids don’t eat food for a few hours, much less a few meals…bad things start to happen. The same thing is true for them with spiritual food. They need a constant diet of learning and reviewing what God wants for them and from them in their lives. They need help understanding what they are supposed to learn from Bible stories. They need to learn how to do things like resolve conflicts in godly ways and how to be a good steward of the gifts God gave them.
Best of all, family devotionals can be flexible. You can have them any time of day. They don’t have to be fancy. They can take place anywhere. You can choose the topics your kids need most at the moment or ones they will need in the future. Family devotionals are a great way to live Deuteronomy 6:7 and 11:19. Plus, we have several free family devotional ideas on our website. In fact, we have almost 100 posts on the topic full of ideas and full devotionals.
Are family devotionals required to raise godly children? No, but having them regularly will help your kids build stronger faith foundations – a vital key to living a Christian life now and as adults.