As Christian parents, one of our greatest responsibilities is to teach our kids about Jesus, to lead them to him, and pray for them to know Him and follow Him.
One thing I know to be true is the enemy is constantly trying to keep us from this task. We need to be intentional to arm ourselves for this battle and to teach our kids about Jesus every day. We are raising arrows. We want those arrows to be sharp and on fire for the Lord, not dull and weak.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Psalm 127:4
Ways to Share Jesus with Your Kids Daily
This is a question I have gotten a couple times so I wanted to create a video about it because not only is this topic near and dear to my heart but it is so important! It’s instructed to us in the Bible. One of the biggest things I hope to accomplish when creating content is how to point your kids to Jesus and how to be more intentional with your faith and your motherhood.
Prayer
I want to discuss prayer because I think so often we think “all we can do is pray” but really prayer is so powerful and it should be our first priority the first thing that we turn to.
Pray before meals. This is a simple way to add this rhythm to your day. Anytime you eat, pray first. We have our kids take turns leading the prayers and we often have to select the child who does it because they all want to be the one to pray. Lead by example and you will soon hear beautiful prayers coming from the mouths of your children.
Pray before driving. This is another time we like to incorporate prayer. I mean I live in Nicaragua so I feel like I need to ask God to be with me anytime I get in the car now more than ever but having your kids ask the Lord for safety in your travels.
Pray before bed. Before bed your kids are usually more attentive. They are calm after a busy day, or maybe they don’t want to go to sleep so they are much more apt to really listen when you are praying. We pray every night before bed, usually separately with our 4 year old and then my husband will pray with the older kids after reading a Bible story.
Even more importantly pray for them. I have a prayer journal with a specially designed section for this.(affiliate link)
Read The Bible
So this brings me into the next part of how to share Jesus with your kids. Simply read the Bible with them. My husband always reads it with them before bed and I read it with them during our homeschool routine. We also have little verse cards that we read at meal times.
Read stories that have Bible verses. If we are not teaching our children what the Bible says and being intentional with the books they read, the media they consume etc. the world will. Be intentional to give them a Biblical Worldview.
Meditate On and Memorize Scripture
One of my favorite things to do with my kids is meditate. We don’t do it nearly often enough in our very full lives but we like to meditate before bed. I like the Abide meditations that will walk you through scripture and a devotional with just some pauses with relaxing music. I encourage my kids to meditate as they are trying to fall asleep and to listen to the Spirit. My oldest is 10 and she is the one who does this most often as she likes to read the Bible and pray on her own before bed.
God wants us to meditate on his Word day and night. A great way to do this is by memorizing scripture. I am the first to admit I am terrible at memorizing but the Lord will reward your efforts. We like to work on a verse every few weeks as a family and we write it on our little chalkboard that hangs by our dining table.
If you homeschool incorporate scripture memorization and if not then it can be a good activity to do around the dinner table.
Use Teachable Moments in Everyday Life
Life is full of circumstances that bring us to the feet of Jesus. Whether it is a lesson in morality when we see someone being unkind. Or maybe it is a lesson in selflessness or patience. God has so many attributes that we can learn and relate to our lives and the situations we find ourselves in. Teaching kids about Jesus doesn’t just happen in separate intentional teachings it happens in the everyday.
When you see a beautiful sunset or when your child notices a cool way a certain flower or tree grows, talk them about their creator and how He created them to.
Hard Times - Grief and Hurt
Teaching my kids about how God is our ultimate comforter and that He has a plan even though we may not understand the painful situation we find ourselves in, is one of the best parenting moves I’ve ever made.
Life is full of hard times and sorrows. Recently my kids have had to face a lot of hard. We asked our kids to move away from everyone and everything they have ever known and loved. Then their beloved papa went to heaven 4 months after we left and then their great grandma. That was really hard for them but they know, and I have seen the peace that overpasses all understanding very vibrantly in their lives. Reminding them that joy comes in the morning and that He loves us so much and all things work together for the good of those who love him. This has built a dependence on the Lord and a trust that they can go to him in prayer and that he has given them their parents (Us) to help them walk through the pain. Some of my sweetest moments with my kids are prayers asking the Lord for comfort.
Use Technology
Our kids love the Truth Seekers Podcast where they listen to Bible stories or you can even play the Bible on audio at bedtime for your kids.
Worship music is playing pretty much all the time at our house. We very rarely listen to anything else. Watch Biblical movies and plays. Our kids love the Sight and Sounds Theatre Shows that you can watch on TV. Jesus and Noah are both favorites!
Be a Student of the Bible
We can’t teach our kids well if we don’t know it ourselves. The Bible is the living breathing word of God. He will continue to teach you things over and over. Be intentional with your study. Join a women’s Bible study in person or even online. Your kids seeing you take it seriously speaks volumes. My kids know that I wake up and read the Bible, and they know they need to keep themselves busy during this time. Obviously, this was harder when they were younger but now they know, to give me that time. And often they will now ask me what I learned today in my study, which just opens up more opportunity to speak to them about Jesus.
Build a Strong Family Culture
Being a close family is important to my husband and I. So we intentionally seek this. Family meetings, a family mission statement, one on one time, asking deep questions. All these things help build our family upon the rock of Jesus. Your family is your first mission field and the people God has given you to directly love and serve.
Serve Together
Serve together. This is one of the best things you can do as a parent. Teach your kids to serve others from a young age. Whether it is hospitality, or volunteering in a homeless shelter, or serving on a teach at your church or opening your home to foster care or safe families. One of the best things you can ever teach your kids is to love and serve others.
Ask for Help
In conclusion, the only way we can do this job well is with the Lord’s help. Ask him to prompt you to teach your kids about Him, ask Him to bring teachable moments to your everyday. Ask Him for wisdom. Take the job of teaching your kids about the gospel seriously. Because their eternal lives depend on it.
Proverbs 22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it