When my first daughter was exactly six months old, while attending a Christian conference, I committed my life to Christ. It revolutionized my world.
Since I was a new mom at the time, my deepest desire was to figure out how to raise a godly child. Since I was new to the Bible, I simply looked up the word "children" and I found this gem.
It was from Moses' last address to the Israelites before they entered the Promise Land. It is the prayer most Jews still pray daily, the Shema.
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
Love the
Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all
your strength.
These commandments that I give you today are to be on
your hearts.
Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you
sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when
you get up.
Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your
foreheads.
Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your
gates.
(Deuteronomy 6:4-9)
So that is what I did. As we went on with our day, we had Jesus spottings. I'd say, "Look, Jesus is making all the trees bloom now, isn’t it beautiful"... "Jesus is making a lovely sunset for us all to enjoy" ... "I am so thankful Jesus is healing your cold" ... "Let's thank Jesus that He gave us good friends and a warm house tonight" etc.
I talked about about Jesus like He is the uncle who lives far away, and we only talk to him on the phone. Because Jesus really is alive. This persuaded them to view Jesus as a real person who sees us, hears us and cares for us. True religion is not something you do on Sunday at church. It is how we act every day.
It is important to pursue God yourself. Let them watch you pray, read your Bible, being kind when others are mean, being generous, thankful, gentle, and respectful even with people with whom you do not agree.
Of course pray for your children but also with them. Pray with them as they tell you their concerns, right then and there, bring their concerns to Jesus. Let them hear you pray out loud for them.
We had prayer triggers. We would pray before meals, but also as we started our day driving to school in the car or when we went on a trip. We would pray at night a prayer I made up to remind them to be thankful but also to soothe them and remind them of God's care for them while they slept.
Here is our Goodnight Prayer:
 |
| Zachary and Ella ready for bed |
Thank You Jesus for today,
we got to laugh and sing and play.
Now it’s time to go to bed,
the angels
sit beside my head
and watches me the long dark night
and wakes me in
the morning light. Amen.
There is much negative information and influences in our culture, so as much as possible, add wholesome and Biblical messages. Listen to worship music in the car. Read Bible story books to them. When picking videos, add godly ones to the mix.
Because it does take a village, it is vital to find and attend a local Bible-believing church. Get involved with children's activities and youth group. It will help for your children to have friends that follow Christ. You need that too!
As they grow, remember faith is always their choice. Jesus invites all and forces none. We as mothers are to teach them. And then we pray.
