I am a mother of four kids: 12, 11, 10 and 3 years of age. When I first became a mother, I knew that I wanted my children to have a relationship and a deep love for God. As a new parent it can be overwhelming learning how to care of a child. Caring for child is more than clothing and feeding their physical body. Just as we ensure their physical body is nourished with good food, their spirit must be nourished with good food….God’s word. It sets the stage and the foundation. A child is never too young to learn about God. The word of the Lord says in Proverbs 6:22 “Train a child in the ways he should go and he will not depart far from it”.
I found myself thinking, how am I going to teach my child about God. What do I say? We may not have all the answers but as we ask the Lord for his revelation knowledge and wisdom, he gives us ideas and insight on ways to reach and teach our children. Children are very impressionable and often develop their skills from what they are exposed to. Everyone likes music, what better way to share with them about God’s love with a song like “Jesus Love the Little Children”. Its teaches them that God loves them no matter what!
Praying with my kids is another opportunity that I found helpful in teaching them about God. Children have short attention spans, so having them bless the meal before eating or helping them learn a prayer such as Psalms 23 are great ways to help them put God’s word to memory. I started praying before our meals and explained to them why we pray before eating. As they got older I would ask one of my children to lead us in prayer before we eat. Now my 3 year old waits with anticipation to lead us in prayer in blessing the food. Teaching a child to pray before a meal does several things….it teaches them that 1)God is the source of the meal and everything they have in life 2)they can talk to God at anytime 3) it develops the leader in them.
I encourage everyone whether you have kids or are considering having kids; plant the seeds of God’s love in their life and watch them blossom into mighty warriors for Christ!