8 Tips for Family Devotionals

Recently, I had a conversation with friend of mine who teaches a class for young families in Missouri. The class was discussing family devotionals, and he asked me for some ideas. We strive to do these in our home, but we can always improve.

Here are a few things we do, or that we need to improve on, in our devotionals. (After my list, please add your thoughts in the comments!)

1. Be consistent. I have known families who have stated things like, “We haven’t missed a single night in 8 years.” That’s not us, but we are consistent. In a typical month, we might miss 2 nights, and usually those are nights when our schedule has been turned upside down.

2. Have a plan. Don’t just say, “Okay, it’s time to start family devotions!” What are you trying to accomplish? Right now, our goals are to read a Bible story to our children and teach them to be (basically) still.

3. Remember the age of your children. We have a 4- and 2-year-old. A 20-minute lesson on Revelation’s seven bowls is probably not appropriate! However, a simple telling of Moses and burning bush is. Songs they know are appropriate, as is the chance to learn a new song every so often. Prayer is always appropriate!

4. Find good resources. Right now, we are using The One Year Children’s Bibleand are reading through it. It is good for small children, and walks them through the basic story of the Bible. There are many other good resources that a Christian bookstore or even your church librarian can help you use. Coming up with a new devo every night is daunting, but having a few good books or other materials will help.

5. Let the children participate (especially as they get older). Right now, we are just glad to get through our devotional period without someone getting in trouble! However, as our children age, why not let them select the songs, or let them share a favorite verse or two. When they are even older, why not assign them a night to share a favorite article? Maybe your daughter can even write a lesson, or your son can practice leading a song. This can serve as a great training ground.

6. Answer questions. If you do this long enough, questions will arise. Mary Carol is starting to ask, “Why did God do that?” (and similar questions) quite regularly. While our answers are very brief, they try to fill her with faith. We might just say, “It was what was needed right then.” To a 4-year-old, that’s an appropriate and faith-building answer.

7. Don’t press the time. No matter what you decide to do, your family devotionals don’t have to turn into Sunday morning worship hours. It’s okay to cut it short if everyone is tired. It’s okay to go a little longer if there are a few questions being asked. You don’t have stick with a 20-minute formula (although being somewhat consistent helps), so make it appropriate for THAT night.

8. Make it about God and family! Impress upon your children that this is God’s Word and that this is a special few minutes in your family’s day. Leah is really good about reminding the kids, “This is Bible time.” Don’t make it just “something you do,” make it a special time for your family to spend with God.

Your children may be rambunctious, or they may go through phases where they act like they don’t like the devotionals, but you’ll be glad you spent the time doing them. You will have days where you are tired and don’t really want to read another story or sing another song, but the “payoff” will be well worth it.

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What tips or resources would you add?