Why Should Family Devotionals Be a DAILY Habit?
There’s a lot of things we could do with our children. Why do we need to have family devotionals every day?
Here’s a few reasons:
- Because the Bible reveals God to us. If you want your child to believe the truth about God, read his Word to them.
- Because kids learn through habits. When family devotions are a daily rhythm in your household, your children will know that God is the center of your household.
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Because the Bible is long. It will take a lifetime to master this Book, so let’s get them started early.
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Because it will train them to listen. How will your kids learn to listen to the Bible if you never teach them?
- Because childhood habits can follow us through our whole lives. Let’s give our kids a daily habit of Bible reading that they will take with them when they leave our home.
- Because we need the Bible every day! In some ways, God’s Word is more essential to life than food. Let’s teach our children to know their need for God and his Word.
- Because God’s Word never returns void. God’s Word WILL bear fruit when you read it to your kids.
- Because our kids will hear lies from the world every day. God’s Word alone is pure, perfect truth. We must fill our children’s minds with truth, so that they are able to stand firm.
- Because God saves people through his Word. If you want your children to trust Christ, read his Word to them.
- Because the Bible reveals God to us. If you want your child to believe the truth about God, read his Word to them.
- Because the Bible reveals our sin. Our children are sinners — they need to see the holiness of God’s law and the wonder of God’s grace.
- Because it tells us that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. The world may heap guilt on our children; we need to refresh our children with the good news of God’s grace on every page of Scripture.
- Because it takes a lifetime to master God’s Word. Overtime, exposing our kids to every page of Scripture will help them to know this book through-and-through, and be like “a tree planted beside flowing streams” (Psalm 1:3).
- Because they have real questions. Often, our children have doubts because they’re seeking to make YOUR faith their own. Let’s not run from their questions, but bring them into the light of God’s Word.
- Because it is the only perfect book. We read Scripture every day because no other book can compare.
- Because it is “sweeter than honey.” We treasure God’s Word and WANT to read it every day. Let’s model a holy obsession with the Bible for our children.
- Because kids like it. 83% of kids say they love it or like it a lot when someone reads out loud to them. You’re probably already reading out loud to your kids every day, so why not make the Bible the top priority in our reading?
- Because it will bring your family together. Every family lives for something, let’s bring our family together to worship the living God.
- Because we believe it is valuable and want our kids to value it too (See Psalm 119:72).
- Because their parents need the Bible every day. By making family devotions a daily rhythm in our home, we’re showing our kids (by example) that we need God’s Word.
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Because they hear a lot of stories every day, but only the Bible makes real sense of the world around us. Our kids need the Bible every day, because they hear from its alternatives every day.
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Because your kids need to learn how to read and think. The Bible is one of the greatest teachers we could ever bring our children to.
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Because we want to! We desire God’s Word, and by making reading an interactive, daily habit, we can teach our kids to desire God’s Word too.
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Because it will train them to listen. A daily habit of sitting under God’s Word as an active listener will equip your children for a lifetime of faithful listening to God’s Word whenever it is read or preached.
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Because people, even in the church, are confused about who God is. If you want your kids to know and worship God in truth, bring them to the Bible, where he is revealed with perfect clarity.
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Because persecution will come and they need to be “ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks [them] for a reason for [their] hope” (1 Peter 3:15). Casual, occasional reading will not do. Our children need robust, daily exposure to the truth of God’s Word.
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Because we want them to build their lives on God’s Word (Matthew 7:24–27), not just occasionally hear it.
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Because our lives are full of darkness and despair. God’s Word gives us hope in the midst of our brokenness (Psalm 119:49).
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Because daily exposure will help your kids feel comfortable reading the Bible.
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Because it will teach your kids to read. Reading the Bible carefully will help your kids learn to read anything carefully.
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Because our children hear messages about self-confidence every day, so they need to hear a better message — God’s mercy to sinners — every day.
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Because they (like all of us) are prone to pride and need to be reminded of God’s greatness (and their own littleness) every day.
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Because they need to be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks for a reason for their hope (1 Peter 3:15). They have to be ready every day, so they need to read it every day!
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Because WE need the Bible every day and making a family habit out of it will help you get more of it for yourself as well.
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Because childhood habits can follow us through our whole lives. Let’s give our kids a daily habit of Bible reading that they will take with them when they leave our home.
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Because it’s important every day, and making a daily habit of Bible reading will show your kids that it’s important.
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Because life with kids can be crazy and we need to plan. Family Bible reading won’t happen automatically, so make a habit out of it.
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Because if we make the Bible a centerpiece of our days, we’ll show our kids to make it the center of their lives.
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Because it will give you shared stories and images to talk about. You’ll find the topics and stories you’ve read about coming up in conversation.
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Because exposure to God’s Word will increase your children’s love for God. So they can see how all the little stories connect into one big story.
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Because God’s Word never returns void. God’s Word WILL bear fruit when you read it to your kids.
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Because if you only read it every-other day it will be harder to make it a habit. It will be easier to forget and harder to create a routine.
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Because you don’t want to implicitly teach your kids that they only need it a few times each week.
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Because there are many types of literature in the Bible. Reading the Bible every day will help your kids be well-rounded readers.
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Because we want them to have a biblical worldview. We need to surround our kids with the Bible, so that it will shape the way they see everything around them.