“Preach the gospel at all times and when necessary use words.~ Unknown 

My biggest desire when raising my children was for them to know God, not for them to only know about Him.

So many times we take our children  to Sunday School or Vacation Bible School or other formal Christian training and expect the church to teach them about God.  My family is a church going family and I do believe a church home is necessary for establishing a relationship with Christ.   My children were expected to attend church every Sunday and most Wednesday nights . And yet, that was not enough.  We are only in church a few hours a week and there is so much that our children need to know about God. What about the rest of the time?

I don’t pretend to be a theologian nor do I pretend to have all the answers, but from my experience, the following seems to have helped my husband and I as we tried to point our children toward God:

1.  Let your kids see God’s grace working in your life.  No one is perfect and our kids need to know that.  We as parents say things we shouldn’t and our attitudes are not always stellar.  When you don’t act the way you should or say something you shouldn’t, let your kids see you apologize, whether you apologize to them or your husband.  And when your kids blow it, try extending a little grace toward them.  I’m not saying you shouldn’t discipline them, nor hold them accountable for their action, because you should.  I’m simply saying that sometimes a child acts before they think, just like we all do.
2. Talk about the Lord to your children as the occasion arises.  Deuteronomy 6:7 tell us to impress the commandments of the Lord on our children and that we should talk about them.  Don’t talk incessantly where your kids get tired of it, just let it flow naturally.
3. Pray for your kids and let them know that you are praying.  When I was in college, I was trying to live two separate lives; one life as a Christian and one not so much.  Every time I left the house, my dad would always tell me that he was praying for me and it would make me mad.  My friend, I knew I was not living like I should, and my dad did too.  And those prayers convicted me of my ungodly living.  Today I am grateful for my dad’s prayers and feel that they are a large part of who I am today.

My advice to you is to trust God, walk out your faith, and  let God do the rest.  If your child is not living the way they should, keep on believing.  And most importantly remember what Proverbs 22:6 tells us to

“Start children off on the way they should go and even when they are old they will not turn from it.”

What can you add?

Were you raised in a Christian home?  How did your parents point you to God?

Are you a parent whose children are adults?  How did you point your children toward God?

This blog post is a follow-up to a parenting resource that I wrote entitled 7 Scripture Prayer To Pray Over Your Homeschool.  To receive a copy, scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the link.