Last week, I witnessed an amazing act of faith and trust in
God by my 6 year olds. My son and his sister were told to walk into a room in
our home, and the light was off, so neither of them wanted to do it. (I don’t know if any of you parents deal with
this issue, but I have had to interrupt many meals and important tasks to go to
the bathroom with one of my kids, or help them reach the light in their bedroom
before they will enter.) So, my daughter
starts self-talking, praying to God to help her “be brave” and my son runs into
our dining room, grabs an index card off the middle of the table, and runs back
to the doorway. Then he reads it aloud, “Give all your worries to Him, because
He cares for you. 1Peter 5:7.” Then he musters up all his courage, chest held
high, and goes into the room like a valiant knight and turns on the light for
himself and his sister!
Such a simple act, but this interchange is such a big deal
to me for many reasons! First, I am a mother to 4 children in this home, and
one in Heaven. Also, my husband’s job
takes him away sometimes, and I have extended times of solo parenting. So, watching my children work together and
solve a problem by themselves is awesome!
Another, and honestly, more important reason, is the fact that they chose
to trust in God. They asked Him for help
in their time of need, both going about it in different ways, yet both grasping
the concept that Jesus us ALWAYS with us, ready to help us through any
situation, if we are open to it. They
had faith that God would protect them from any and all of their worst feared
monsters (and you and I both know that children have very vivid imaginations,
and as silly as they seem to us adults, these threats are real to them). This moment renewed my heart and spirit,
reminding me to keep persevering in this life as a Christian mommy.
This week, I encourage you to start (or keep giving) your
children ways to reach out to God. And,
do it lots of different ways if you can so that each child’s personality and
way of worship is represented. My
daughter has always had a more open relationship with God, talking to Him often
and believing in Him without a doubt from the beginning. My son, on the other hand, asks lots of
questions and takes more time to process Bible stories. He is sometimes
hesitant to reach out for help from a God that he cannot see. Even though he didn’t know the Bible verse by
heart, he knew where he could find it. I
know that scripture memorization is difficult for me, which is why I have
hundreds of bookmarks in my Bible app tagged with words to help me find it more
easily. The Bible can be overwhelming to some, so
start with a verse a week, or one a day, and talk it over.
Get a children’s devotional guide and read it-we often do
ours on the way to school, and then pray before I drop them all off.
Write Bible verses on index cards and leave them places the
kids see them (i.e. on the dining room table, on their bathroom mirror, on
their bedroom door, on the refrigerator).
We read the verse of the week at dinner, and so having it right there is
easiest for me.
Pray aloud with them AND for them. Talking to someone you can’t see is
hard. They are still learning to
understand concepts like mortality and third person perspectives, so they need
a role model to help them know and understand that NOTHING is wrong when
praying to God. Encourage children to
just pray from their hearts, and be patient with it. God knows our hearts, and
can decipher it just fine without us fine tuning it for Him. Teach children to pray not only for
themselves and their family, but for others.
You can be specific about the person and what you are praying for (i.e.
“We pray for Grandpa and healing of his cancer, Lord. For strength as he gets
his special medicine that fights it, and for Gigi as she helps take care of
him.”)
And, lastly, enjoy these moments with your children. Pause
and tell them how much you love them, and that Jesus loves them EVEN MORE! Celebrate the times when you see their
discipleship skills developing, and their personal relationship with God
blossoming. Here are a few scriptures to remind us of the power of prayer, and
of being good role models for our children.
James 1:5-8 (MSG) If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the
Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to
when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People
who “worry their prayers” are like wind-whipped waves. Don’t think you’re going
to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your
options open.
Ephesians 6:18 (NIV) And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all
kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on
praying for the Lord’s people.
Proverbs 22:6 (KJV) Train up a child in the way he should go: and when
he is old, he will not depart from it.
