What’s all the talk about devotions, anyway?
Whether you’re someone who has gone to church your whole life, or kind of new to the scene—you’ll most likely hear others mention the importance of having “quiet times” or “devotion times” each day. These terms have to do with setting aside some time [each day] to pray and read Scripture in order to have a closer relationship with God. You may initially wonder when, or how, you can fit anything else into your list of have-to’s (or want-to’s) throughout your days.
I understand—each day is crazy busy! Nobody will argue with that point. And in our current season of life (the parenting years), consistent Bible study and prayer time with God can be a challenge! Add to this mix, trying to tackle family devotion time with kids involved—and this matter moves to a whole new level. The thought can be so overwhelming that many parents feel defeated before they even start the race.
But, take heart—it’s not as hard as you may think. With my own family, I’ve found a few helpful keys to this predicament. One solution is to break things down into age-appropriate, bite-sized pieces. Family devotions don’t have to be daunting. They can be done in fun, different, easy-to-do kinds of ways!
So, let’s consider some age-related tips that will help guide you toward a more do-able devo time together as a family.
Preschoolers
Younger preschoolers (babies–twos):
Pray together for meals, snacks, and bedtimes. Short attention spans = short prayers. Say prayers like: “Thank You, God, for our milk/yummy applesauce/cheesy noodles/etc… Amen.” “Thank You, God, for our warm beds and soft blankets. Please help us sleep really good tonight! Amen.”
Older preschoolers (threes–fives):
Continue praying for all mealtimes and sleep times. Now, start building on those with an age-appropriate Bible story or devotion thought before bedtime each night. There are several great children’s Bible resources with pictures to help capture your child’s attention as you read the short Bible content aloud to your child. (You can find these Bible resources in stores all around you—from Christian book stores to general stores such as Wal-Mart or Target.)
Teaching Tip: Parents, remember—everything in the Bible is true! So, be sure to use resources with children that show an accurate, true sense of Bible story events (such as real people) rather than fantasy-type figures (such as food items posing as people). In other words—keep fantasy characters with fictional storylines, and people characters with the non-fictional stories of the Bible.
Children
Younger children (K–4th grade):
As your children grow and mature, you continue to add to the foundation that you started in their preschool years of prayer and Bible stories.
During mealtimes and bedtime, your elementary aged kids can start taking turns praying for the meals and praying at bedtime. Also, as they’re learning to read—they may want to help read the Bible stories or short devotionals to the family. This will begin to give them ownership in the process of developing their own quiet time routine.
In our next segment of “Solving the Family Devotion Dilemma, Part 2: Teens,” we’ll look at family devo time with teenagers, and some unique opportunities to involve them in this process of spiritual growth.