This difficult season of being homebound is providing many parents with extra time at home with their children. It is also a great opportunity to implement, or re-implement,
Why is Family Devotional Time WORTH adding to your daily routines?
In today’s busy culture, family devotions carve out a time of fellowship for your family that’s centered on Christ. This time together provides an opportunity for families to connect with each other as well as with the Word of God. So many rich conversations can happen as a result of a simple 5 minute devotional time.
The following podcast “Growing Closer Through Family Devotions” from Focus on the Family is a wonderful discussion on the importance of families spending time together in the Word, from little ones to teenagers.
3 Tips on How to Implement
1. Choose a time
of day that works
best for your family.
Every family is different and what works for one, may not work for another. Figure out when your family gathers most and is most attentive. Meal times are a popular time because it helps with consistency. But for many, a family devotional may work best right before bedtime or first thing in the morning. It all depends on your family dynamic.
Whatever time of the day you decide, try to leave the devotional nearby where it’s VISIBLE and EASILY ACCESSIBLE. If you use an online devotional, save the link on your phone so it can also be accessed quickly.
2. Choose the right
devotional for
your family.
There are HUNDREDS of devotionals you can choose from. If you have younger children, you can focus on those written for little ones. But if you have older kids or a range of ages, there are also devotionals geared towards the entire family.
These are just a few recommendations.
(Each book below can be found on Amazon with the “Look Inside” option so you can peruse the pages.)
- For Younger Kids:
- Little Visits with God by Allan Hart Jahsmann and Martin P. Simon
- Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing by Sally Lloyd-Jones
- Jesus Calling: 365 Devotions for the Year by Sarah Young
- For the Entire Family:
- Foundations: 12 Biblical Truths to Shape a Family by Ruth Chou Simmons & Troy Simmons
- Kingdom Family Devotional: 52 Weeks of Growing Together by Tony Evans and Jonathan Evans
- Planting Seeds of Biblical Truth: Focus on the Family offers this free 52 week family devotional as a PDF.
- There are also online family devotionals that can be listened to from your phone such as:
Again, there are many more you can research. Ask trusted friends for recommendations. But first, pray and ask the Holy Spirit to lead you to the devotional that’s just the right fit for your family.
3. Choose JOY regardless.
Don’t be discouraged if your family isn’t on board from the beginning. There may be some reluctance at first, which is common when first implementing a new habit in the family routine. Regardless of the scoffs and rolling of eyes (if you have older kids), read the family devotional daily with a joyful heart. Little by little, it’ll become the norm and they’ll enjoy the time together. Even if their joy isn’t visible now, remember that you’re planting seeds of Biblical truths that may not blossom right away. But the Word does not return void and eventually, these truths will take root. You’ll smile when one day in the future, the very same kid who gave you a hard time about family devotions is telling you how special and invaluable they actually were.
However, CONSISTENCY IS KEY so try to do it daily or as often as your schedule allows.
If you’re interested in some more practical ways to start, check out Focus on the Family’s “A Simple Way to Start Family Devotions”.
Praying for you all and that out of these unfortunate times may spring up a revitalized lifestyle of true quality time with our families.
Attached below is a printable copy of this post:
Love it. I needed this and I ordered one off your list! Thank you!
That’s awesome Veronica! I pray it helps bring your family closer to God and to each other. xoxo
Thank you for this! There are so many wonderful devotionals that it can be overwhelming to try to choose. I appreciate your recommendations, and I added 2 of them to my cart. I’m excited to dig in when we finish the one we’re on now.
Yay! Amber, I’m so happy you found the recommendations helpful!