Doing Devotionals With the Children

I have been asked many times what we do and what we use with the children for their devotionals.We used to do our Family Devotions once a week and honestly, it was a t-o-r-t-u-r-e! Why? Well, firstly, it is just not in our natural inclination to want to pray and worship God. And then to rally small, young children to do it with joy was stretching it a long bit! So we had long faces, bored faces and stressed faces instead of joyful, worshipful faces! And this was just a 15minute session! So we gave up.

Then prompted by the Holy Spirit, we would re-start it and then give up and re-start and give up. To encourage you, the good news is that we are now doing our devotions much more consistently and with a purpose! But it only started and clicked together when we started using our Student of the Word curriculum. This may sound like a plug for the curriculum but it’s true! We have to give credit where credit is due, right?

So now, we start our school day with a sesssion on the assigned chapters for the week, learning to outline the main topics covered, then studying the chosen topic, character and end with a commentary and summary of what we had learn. (All of these are laid out in SOW ’s Scope & Sequence).

This is for our older children (we started when they were 5.5yrs and 7.5yrs old). This really has been a God-sent because not only are we (the parents!) forced to be consistent when we link it to school, but more importantly, the children are learning how to dig into the Bible on their own from a very early age. They don’t just sit there and listen to us read something from a devotional. They are required to think ! Do we still have sulky faces and bored faces? Of course!

But the fruit we reap is wonderful especially when you read what they had written. They often surprise us with their understanding and perception of what is covered in the Bible. Many who have used SOW also have said the same thing of their children so I know this is true not just for our family.

Now what about the younger children? Do we ignore them till they are able to join in the older ones? Nope!They can actually join in from K level but I have found that it is more effective for me to take them through the Bible, concentrating on the Bible stories first.

Currently, we use Bible Story Colouring Pages by Gospel Light. What I like is that it allows you to legally reproduce the pages for personal use. No violation of copyright laws here! Otherwise, you can use the free downloadable pages from Calvary Chapel.

To start out, I would tell the story and then give them the relevant pages to colour. We file them and then review them at the end of the year. This yearly refreshing of their memory of the Bible stories is helpful and lays the foundation for later on when we take them through the whys and hows of the stories.

I used The Child’s Story Bible by Catherine Vos which I feel is a good balance (most children’s Bibles are either inaccurate or ar e dumbed down ) between a child’s and an adult’s Bible which can go waay above their heads. At that young age, since most children would not be able to do any application or draw any lessons from the stories we concentrate on them familiarising themselves with the stories and characters (are they godly or ungodly? Why?). Of course there are always exceptions! Just bear this in mind so that you will not tear your hair out trying to make them apply the story to their own lives.

Some of the devotionals we had used include : Leading Little Ones to God by Marian M. Schoolland , Little Visits with God by Allan Hart Jahsmann and Martin P. Simon, Family Devotions for Children by Kenneth Taylor , One Year Bible For Children by V. Gilbert Beers (lovely, lovely illustrations!) and various Devotions for Boys and Girls. I have also used a free online devotional from Keys For Kids.

Personally, I find that those that take the child through the Bible more effective than those that just use a verse and tell a story around the verse. But I know many who have found what I described effective for their families. So really, your mileage may vary. What I didn’t like was that the children learn “stock answers”. Eg. All questions are answered with “God”, “Jesus” “Pray”…

The key when doing devotions with the children, as my dh likes to remind ourselves as well as other parents, is not to be leglistic about it. There is no fixed rule that we must do it everyday or once a week and that the format mst include worship, prayer, bible study. There is no harm in following this format but it shouldn’t be a must . Something we need to do or else! Remember, we want to do it everyday because we want to please God not so that we can then just tick it off our To-Do list.

The motivation is important because our children can sense it and they can see through our reluctance and legalism when we just go through the motions. We need to pass on our passion and love for the Lord, not a set of rules to win brownie points with God. Consistency is good (so is discipline!) but to do it everyday but with a sour face (ours!) or with a resigned attitude (ours again!) is not what we want to model for our children.

Also, it is no point doing devotionals everyday if we are not modelling Christ in our lives the rest of the day! Children are very perceptive. They know if we are being hypocrites or not. So it’s not the “Do what I say” that is important but the “Do what I do”!

* There are those who have purchased SOW just for the Bible portion and use other curriculum for Science, History, etc… Or even just as a Bible curriculum for their public school kids. For more information on it, please check out the SOW website .

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Recommended Books :

Bible Story Coloring Pages
By Gospel LightKeep small hands busy and young hearts in the Bible with this big book of artwork. Includes 246 perforated reproducible pages with Scripture stories and companion coloring pictures—from Genesis to Revelation. From Gospel Light.

Leading Little Ones to God
By Marian M. Schoolland / Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.Written in clear language, this classic Bible storybook gives you short devotions you can share with children. Each lesson includes a story, a Scripture verse to memorize, a prayer, and a song. It’s a wonderful way for children to learn about who God is, why Jesus came to Earth, and how we should act today. 184 pages, softcover. Recommended for ages 4 to 10.

Little Visits with God: 50 Year Golden Anniversary Edition
By Allan Hart Janhsmann & Martin P Simon / Concordia Publishing House

The One Year Bible For Children
By V. Gilbert Beers / Tyndale KidsMore than a picture Bible—this through-the-year devotional for 5- to 8-year-olds helps develop a love for Scripture! The 365 skillfully written Bible stories and Psalms come to life with beautiful illustrations. And each reading features a 3-part discussion section: “Remember” (recall factual information), “Discover” (what’s the lesson?), and “Apply” (how does it fit your child’s life?). 432 pages, hardcover from Tyndale.