Direct your children onto the right path and when they’re older,
they will not leave it. Proverbs 22:8 NLT
Do you worry that you’re not doing enough to teach your children about Jesus? Are you afraid that they’ll walk away and follow the ways of the world? Moms in Prayer mom, Tina, and her daughter Britt, now also a mom, have a conversation about this and how you can impact the lives of your children for Christ.
Tina – Lead your young children to Christ. I think we need to be ready as moms to invite our children to make that decision. As a godly mom, you’re in a position to do this.
Britt – Everything I absorbed as a child, I still know. I have the Word of God in me.
Even though I stepped away from the gospel during a season of rebellion, I never left it. I didn’t discard everything I knew to be true. I knew the truth, so I spotted the lies. I knew I wanted to come back, but I was strong willed at the time. Still, I grew up knowing the Truth and my family lived this way. I saw my mom walk this out and noticed her priorities of loving God and others.
Tina – When I think of Britt’s testimony about walking the opposite way of Jesus, but now she has come back, I cannot tell you how powerful a mother’s prayers are for her kids!
Britt – I agree. As mothers we need to be in the Word and praying for our kids every day, living out the truth in front of our children. You can’t impart what you don’t know. More is caught than taught – don’t overthink this. The Word of God is far more powerful than we realize. I was raised going to church and hearing scripture.
Tina – We lived it out with you. I was walking out my journey with Christ in front of you. But we also need to have teachable moments, like having our kids memorize scripture.
Make reading God’s Word a bigger deal than Disney, for example. It’s simple to teach your kids about Christ. If you get too intense about it, you’re going to breed rebellion in your kids, but if you make it a part of your day, it’s a lifestyle.
Gathering around the table at dinner time is one of your biggest places of evangelism & discipleship at your home. Do the best you can with what you know, but you need to keep striving and growing in Christ.
6 Ways to Raise Your Kids to Follow Jesus
1. As mothers, we need to be in the Word and in prayer for our children every day.
2. Regularly read a devotion with your child, even as young as toddlers. Ask them questions about it. Get them engaged with the Word of God.
3. Take the opportunity to speak life and truth into your kids in everyday activities.
4. Gather around the table at dinner time. It’s one of your best places for evangelism and discipleship at your home.
5. Teach your children that your first response to fear is prayer.
6. A mother’s prayers for her kids are powerful, directing them on Christ’s path and plan for their lives. Gather with other moms to pray for your children & their schools. See how below.
Britt – Out of fear for our kids, we can also make salvation for them an idol. As moms, we start asking ourselves, “Am I doing enough?” “Will my kids get it?”
So, what do we do? Take consistent opportunities to read God’s Word with your child, helping them understand it. I read a devotion with my 3-year-old daughter about her identity in Christ. She remembered the scripture reference after going through the book for just a short time! There are also opportunities to speak life and truth into your kids, like when I was sitting outside with my children and asked, “Did you know Jesus made everything around us?”
I think too, that we need to be very careful as parents in responding to difficult times in our world. Are we going to respond in fear because fearful parents can raise fearful children. After the tragedy at the Christian school in Tennessee, I drove to my daughter’s school while she and other students were on spring break and I prayed to God over the school building, over the teachers, and what they taught. I prayed for the children that attend this school. I wanted my children to hear that. Our children learn that our first response is prayer. My young daughters started praying too.
Tina – There was another family who prayed with their kids and for the victims of the shooting. These are kids that are going to grow up knowing that when they’re afraid, to go to Jesus. An example of living out our faith in front of our kids.
Britt – Be there for your kids and love on them. My mom just loved on me, even when she knew I was walking down the wrong path. Even when I rolled my eyes at her, she would stay calm and make only little comments, speaking truth. And she prayed. And I returned to the Lord.
Lord, help moms to raise their kids according to the plans and purposes You have for their lives. Help them direct their children onto the right path so when they’re older, they won’t depart from it. Use this as encouragement for moms whose children are walking in rebellion right now, that You would call your children back to You. In Jesus’ Name, amen.
Moms in Prayer
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Tina Smith and Britt Fortunato are the mother and daughter duo of Legacy – A Mom Podcast. As moms, we have the power to change the trajectory of our families today! On the podcast, Tina and Britt talk about how God has transformed both of them from leaving a legacy of destruction to a legacy of life that lives on for generations to come. We are all leaving a legacy. Have you thought about yours? Tina is the Director and Founder of Raising Kids on Your Knees. Connect with her and her daughter Britt and find resources at RaisingKidsonYourKnees.org