Many parents struggle with how to start daily devotions with their family. Thankfully, this habitual practice with your children doesn’t need to be challenging. It can be as simple as reading from a children’s Bible or opening Scripture. As in everything, God is there to do the work. He, through the Holy Spirit, gives us faith and growth in His Word. You simply need to figure out what daily devotions are going to look like for your family.
Consistency
Consider a consistent time for your family’s devotions. It should be a time you can usually sit down with God’s Word. If your household is anything like mine, our schedule can be erratic! The most consistent time we have together is the morning. Figure out what works best with your family and work to get into a habit of doing your daily devotions.
Select A Devotion
Pick a devotion. This may seem a little obvious, but there are as many types of devotions as there are colors. Think about the type of style right for your home. Do you have little wiggly kids or older kids with bigger Bible appetites? Is this for the whole family or for yourself? How much time do you have? If you crave a more structured devotional, there are hundreds of books of daily devotions and reflections available with styles suited to everyone. Check with your church or your pastor to see if they have any resources available that may fit your needs. Do an online search and don’t be afraid to try something new. God desires for you to be in His Word and loves anything you do to be there.
For the little ones in your home, a style of devotion that keeps their attention and interest is usually the best. This could incorporate music, hand motions, videos, or podcasts (go ahead and check out the Donuts and Devos Podcast for Kids to engage and feed your child(ren)’s faith!). You could also consider letting your younger ones color pictures during family devotions. These free printables are an easy and fun option to entertain your littles during this time.
Simplicity
Keep it simple. Did you get overwhelmed when searching for a devotion? Many times it’s easier just to not start than have to weed through the variety of resources available. Whatever you choose, make sure it is simple and easy to implement in your family lifestyle. For younger kids, having a structure to your daily devotions helps them know what to expect. An opening response, a Jesus song or hymn, a quick reading from a children’s Bible or book and the Lord’s Prayer works well for kids. The whole thing might take 10 minutes, which keeps devotion time short and sweet!
Get Started
The only way to know if something is going to work is to get started and try. This will be learning experience at first. Gradually, you will get more comfortable and the flow will come naturally. This is when you will know that devotions have become part of your family’s routine.
When in doubt ask questions. Don’t be worried about knowing all the right answers to your children’s questions or if you are confused about your own readings. Everyone, even those who spend their entire lives studying the Word, sometimes need help to understand Scripture. Remember, it is always okay to answer a question with “I don’t know” so long as your next words are “Let’s find out!” Write down your questions to ask your pastor or other Bible teacher. Encourage your children to ask these questions. They will cherish the opportunity to help you grow in your knowledge while also having more time in the Word themselves.
Prayer
End your daily devotions in prayer. It might be easy to skip this step. Prayer is the opportunity to talk to God. Just like children ask their parents, we are also invited to take our requests to God, give praise, and thank Him. If the idea of creating your own prayer is uncomfortable, you can simply use the Lord’s Prayer. This is the perfect prayer given to us by Jesus for us to use.
As you start this practice be sure to give yourself and anyone else you may be sharing this time with some grace. This is a learning experience to start with, especially if you are including children in devotional time. Have patience as you explore and figure out this valuable family time. Some days your time together will go great! Other days might be frustrating and feel silly. Take comfort and have peace in knowing you are doing the best thing for your family. God’s Word does not go out without reaping benefits. The faith building work is done by God though the Holy Spirit, regardless of the form your devotional takes. May God bless you as you dive into your family’s devotional practice.
Great resource. I find it ever so convenient for the enemy that time is never really on our side, and setting a devotional time in stone doesn’t always happen every day for some families. We had to put our foot down and say no more, those other pressing things are not more important than teaching our children about our Lord. Thanks for sharing this is a very good resource.
You are so right, Satan can tear us down as families just by the limited time many families have together! Even a short 15 minutes can hopefully be beneficial to families!
Sometimes we tend to overthink how we should spend time with the Lord. The 5 ways you listed show just how simple it is to incorporate a daily devotion into our day.
Such a good point!! Yes, we do tend to think daily devotions needs to be a structured routine we follow, but it can be accomplished in so many various ways!!
Having a family altar is vital for the spiritual growth of all members. Thanks for sharing these practical and helpful tips.
I like how you encourage us to “know our audience” even within our family. I remember having to adjust devotional time for my son because he had two definite ways of learning best. Neither was my best way, lol.
This is so true!! I have some kids that can sit still and others that need to be moving!! They all learn differently!
Daily devotions with the family is not something we have don’t consistently. We each have our own devotional time but after reading this I am realizing the importance of doing a daily devotion together. Thank you for the encouragement.
How wonderful that you are doing devotions already individally! I know it can be challenging to do them with the kids!
I remember daily devotions from when l was a kid. And my dad being a minister would pray and pray and sometimes l fell asleep. But isn’t it a wonderful time for families to prayer together. Great thoughts!
I love this I will be using these suggestions to do devotions with my children.
That’s great!! Hopefully it can make your daily devotions easier!
Sometimes the obstacles we face can become more daunting when we overthink it. How wonderful that we can teach our kids about Christ. Finding time to spend doing daily devotions with them is such a HUGE investment in their lives and also for God’s Kingdom. Bless you … ❤
Such a great post! It has gotten harder to keep to a schedule now that our kids are older. They also love to skip the praying out loud part, but when we hear there sweet calls to God it is a wonderful sound. Thanks for the tips!
Thank you for this timely post! We have begun daily devotions with our young children, and your helpful advice is just right!
Great tips for starting daily devotions with your family. We go through periods where we are consistent and then periods where I let other things get in the way. Thank you for this reminder for me to put daily devotions into our summer routine.
Great tips and something that I can pass on to those with littles looking for more discipleship in their home. Thank you for sharing.
My family and I started having devotions several nights a week three months ago. There have been some very special moments shared in the Word, in worship and in prayer. The most amazing of all thus far has been seeing the answers to prayer. Wonderful teaching moments especially for our two preteens.
Thanks for these actionable steps! They show how doable it is to mark out time and stick with the discipline of family devotions!
Awesome blog post! I think that it is so great that parents are being more intentional about sharing faith with their kids! Super encouraging! Can’t wait for the next generation of believers!
There are so many distractions in life – especially when we are trying to teach our children to follow God! Creating a habit of having daily devotions with our family can help to combat that busyness and create a space that will begin with God.
Thank you for such a practical post for our daily devotions with our kids! We read the Jesus Storybook Bible every night before bed, pray and sing the Doxology together 🙂 It makes bedtime such a sweet time to remember the simple truths in the Bible.
This is great!! I love that Story Bibkle!
Honesty time! I’ve been trying to start devotional time with my kids and been overwhelmed. When you said “pick a devotion”, I’m sitting there like “of course, why didn’t I think of that?!” Sometimes as women we tend to complicate things, haha!
Don’t we though??!! I always want it done in a certain way, and toddlers are teaching me that I need to be flexible!!
Creating devotion time doesn’t have to be complicated. Starting where you are is what helped me.