02.07. CHAPTER 03 - CHILDREN NEED GOD'S WORD AND PRAYER
CHAPTER 03 - CHILDREN NEED GOD’S WORD AND PRAYER
God told the Israelites that they were to teach their children about Him, when they sit down, when they walk together in the streets, when they are about to go to bed and when they get up in the morning (Deuteronomy 6:7). This teaches us that it is important to teach our children spiritual principles at all times and on every occasion.
It is tragic to see the number of children from Christian homes who are doing things today that even unbelievers would not do! What is the cause? Is it because their parents failed them??? I don’t know and I don’t want to pass a judgment. I would rather sympathize with their parents and encourage them to believe that God can still do a miracle and change their children. But we must all learn lessons from the failures we see around us, or else we will make the same mistakes ourselves and our children will suffer.
Only through God’s Word and prayer can we protect our children from disaster. There is no other way.
Reading a "Children’s Picture Bible" to our children even when they cannot read for themselves is a good habit. Because, later on, they will then feel like reading it all by themselves. Another good habit to encourage in our children is that of memorising Scripture. That can be a good way for us to memorise some Bible-verses too!!
If we talk to our children about the Lord and His Word constantly, we will keep the channels of communication open with them. Then we will quickly detect any bad habits or words that they may have picked up at school or from their friends; and then we can help them to get rid of them.
We should keep our children away from things forbidden in the Scriptures. For example, we should not take our children for heathen festivals, neither should we attend them ourselves. We should not allow our children to celebrate heathen festivals along with their friends - for example, lighting sparklers and rockets at Diwali time. In the same way, when we know that the baptism of babies is wrong in God’s eyes, we should not allow our children to attend such child-baptisms - even the child-baptisms of our own relatives. Our children will not grow in reverence for God and His Word, if we do not teach them that they have to be separated from all that is of darkness, even if they have to displease their closest friends and relatives, as a result. We want to be friendly with our relatives. So we can visit them at some other time.
We should teach our children that the commandments of God are all for their very best - and therefore they should obey them joyfully. Children must be taught to love the Word of God and to obey the Lord out of love and reverence - and not out of the fear of getting caught or being punished.
Prayer is like a blanket with which we can cover our children. Just like we would make sure during a cold night that our children are properly covered, we also need to ensure that they are covered in a cold world by our prayers. Wherever they are - in school or far away - we can ask God in prayer to protect them from the snares that the enemy has prepared for them.
We must unite with our husbands and claim the promise of our Lord that " if two agree concerning anything on earth, it will be granted to them by our heavenly Father" (Matthew 18:19). We must pray to God, agreeing together with our husbands, that all our children will be born again and become wholehearted disciples of the Lord. We must not allow Satan to bring anything between us and our husbands, lest Satan get an opportunity to attack our children. We should offer ourselves and our children on the altar to the Lord every day.
Praying together as a family is also very important. In the mornings, this may not often be possible, since it can be a big rush getting the children ready for school etc., So a brief prayer asking for God’s guidance and protection over them should be enough. We could also pray for any urgent needs at that time. But in the evenings, at dinner-time, it is good to take some time to read the Scriptures and to pray together. Each child should be encouraged to pray. On holidays, we could spend a longer time together with God’s Word.
Only God can preserve our children in an evil world. This is why we must depend on the Word of God and prayer more than on anything else. Every problem our children face can be overcome with the Word of God and prayer. When we face problems with regard to our children, if we have developed the habit of listening to the Lord, He will give us a promise for the solution of each problem. We can then cling to that promise and pray on, until the problem is solved.
We mothers should give our children a sense of security and love. Our children should find in us a haven and a refuge to which they can always turn. This will enable them in later years to understand the love and care of God more clearly. Surely this is a great privilege that we have - to reflect the nature of God to our children, so that their young minds can grasp the Unseen more firmly.
"The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish tears it down with her own hands" (Proverbs 14:1)