Building Faith In Our Children

{Last February I was asked to share at our local MOPS on this subject. Today I'm blogging some of those thoughts.This is geared towards moms of young children}

Some years ago, my husband and I made some decisions for our family that were met with a lot of resistance from some people. I heard over and over again about the dangerous path we were on and what it would do to our family. Doubt and fear crept in and I cried out to God repeatedly to show us if we were making a mistake. You know you hear from God on a matter, but sometimes you start to question, especially if it calls you out from the comfortable, and soon, you are starting to wonder if you heard right. This was the case.

We were in the middle of harvest, and I have such a love/hate relationship with that season already. I was coming through the harvest widow experience and putting the kid's to bed alone AGAIN. They are all settled. Deep sigh. Then I heard my son come down the stairs, and he was crying. I was privileged to lead him to Jesus that night.

That experience came on the heels of my crying out to God and it was such a huge confirmation that we were following God and that He would lead and direct our children.

I do not have a formula for building faith in our children. In fact, I would throw away the formulas if I had them. There is not a list of 'Do's' and 'Don'ts' out there that guarantees Godly children. There are basic principles of course, but unless the Holy Spirit does an on-going work in my life and the lives of my children, there is no hope for any of us.

We can't build something in our children that we don't possess ourselves.

We start with the basics:

-get time alone with God
This is very difficult if you have young children, I know. Sometimes it means taking a long hot shower while your husband is with the children. Or maybe a walk without any kids to clear your head and talk to Jesus. I love to grocery shop alone, (now that my children are older, and they prefer to stay at home) and I have had many a mighty 'church' service on my way to Aldi.

-read good books
I know, even reading a book other than Clifford, the Big Red Dog or Are You My Mother sounds completely foreign to you. but if you are a reader, and if you're not, :) I encourage you to read good books. I love books that make me think, books that I can take a bite at a time and then not pick it up again for several days or weeks.

-find mentors or people who will encourage you
This is one that I wish with all my heart I would have done when I had 4 kids ages 6 and under. Don't try to swim alone. There are sharks out there and they are out to get you. After my youngest was born, I suffered with a mild case of depression. I was extremely overwhelmed with 4 young children, we had just started home schooling and were misunderstood by many people, and we were struggling with some personal issues. Someone to text for prayer or to pour my heart out to would have been so valuable.


We build faith in our children by growing our own faith.

You can:
-read Scripture to your baby
-require your 4 year old to memorize Ps.23
-pay your 8 year old to read through the Bible
-push your 12 year old to witness to his friends at school like your friend's 12 year old does

But you can't make them desire a relationship with Jesus.

Recently I read the story of Hannah and Samuel. Samuel was 3-4 years old when he moved in with Eli. Hannah only saw him once a year after that. Hannah had to be disciplined and intentional with her time with Samuel. She had other responsibilities too. He wasn't her only child.

So when do we teach our children about Jesus?
Duet. 6:4-9 says "Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."

When we go throughout our day, we talk about God. We ask questions to make them think. "Who painted the sunset? Who made the baby kittens?" We tell them about God, His unconditional love for us, our unique fingerprints, and the way He desires to have a relationship with us. We tell our children why God created us.

Our children' desire for a relationship with God comes from a heart willing to answer the call and work of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

Make your home an environment that feels safe and normal to talk about God.

When God answers a prayer for you, tell your children. Our children's faith grows when they see ours growing.

Some of our favorite tools for acquainting our children with Jesus were:

-Steve Green's "Hide 'em in your Heart" DVD's or CD's
-Uncle Arthur's Bedtime Bible Storybooks
-Our Story Hour Bible story CD's

Some other things we've done around here were to write Scripture on the bathroom mirror, record Scripture on cassette, (this is excellent for the child who struggles with memorization!) and have a family time to memorize together.

Finally, to build faith in our children, we must surrender the outcome to God.

Dannah Gresh says, "If you do not have an on-going conversation with the Holy Spirit about raising your children to be set apart in this corrupt culture, you will become a paranoid parent whose legalism does not allow her children to slay the 'Goliath's' God means for them to face."