Have you noticed the impact of mentoring on prayer? When some people pray, they refer to God as Heavenly Father, or Dear Lord, or even Holy God. And they may repeat His name at the beginning of each sentence. Much of this comes from listening to others pray. I didn’t realize how much my youthful prayers sounded like my youth minister until I spent time with a friend from a different youth group!
Our devotional life – those moments when we are “alone with God” or most keenly aware of His presence – is shaped strongly by the spiritual “guides” in our lives. Practicing spiritual disciplines like prayer, giving, meditation or silence, journaling, even our approach to scripture takes on the spice and flavor of those who showed us the way.
So too, your parenting efforts toward instilling a strong devotional life in your kids should include the practice of modeling through times of shared devotion. Praying together with your kids teaches them a vocabulary for prayer that works its way into the prayers spoken when you are not in the room.
Read scripture together and then discussion questions like, “What does this verse tell us about God? How did Jesus respond to this situation? How might we apply this to our situations today?” You will not only address the devotional needs of the present, but you will build into your children a way of thinking about scripture that extends into adulthood.
Even the practice of giving can start as a family experience. Rather than writing one check to your church or charity, consider ways that your kids can participate in the joy of giving.
For example, our girls came home from church one Sunday saying that they wanted to participate in the Children’s Ministry global missions offering. We said that whatever they wanted to give, we would match it – doubling their gift. I figured it would amount to a few bucks. After listening to them empty piggy banks and rattle coins, they came back saying, “Okay, we’re going to give $50!” I was tempted to reduce their allowance. But when they said that they were excited to give it to the Lord, we knew we were on the right track.
Pursuing God together as a family builds into our children an awareness of how to engage God that builds confidence in their private, personal interaction with Him.
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