Leading Memorable Family Devotions Easily

Deuteronomy 6 reminds us that God’s Word should be a cornerstone in our homes and lives. Coming together and sharing the Word daily as a family is important to God.

These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.
Impress them on your children.
Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
Deuteronomy 6:6-7

But how do we do it?

How do we lead memorable family devotions? By preparing well and letting God lead us. Below are five tips to lead memorable family devotions in your home today.

Remember that God will Help You to Lead Your Family Devotions

God strength shows up when we are weak. He steps in and does all the heavy lifting when we do what He has instructed us to do. We just need to be available, and allow Him to do the rest.

But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’
Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
2 Corinthians 12:9

God will show up and help us as we lead family devotions, just like He showed up for Apostle Paul in his weakness and gave him power.

Prepare

To make family devotional time more meaningful, take some time before the session to prepare. Spend the time asking God what He would like your family to learn, and then how He would like them to learn it. There are tons of resources available including kid friendly daily devotionals, activities, and Christ-centered games, but sometimes all your family may need is one Bible verse and a worship chorus to focus on Jesus. Spend time in prayer, then plan for the devotion. The Holy Spirit will give guidance on the resources that will work best for your family.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Matthew 6:33

Start small

The family devotional goal is to do it often. The time spent may vary, but consistency gives the best results over time. Gathering the family for devotion for five minutes daily is better than having a two-hour devotion once a week. Why? Because children learn best through routines and repetition. Also, our kids do not have a very long attention span. Most children under five can only concentrate for 10 minutes, and those under ten will zone out after 20 minutes. Short and sweet is often best. Doing it daily means you can build on what was discussed the previous day, and it gets the kids thinking about God at least once a day!

Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
Joshua 1:8

Record wins

Take note of what worked well during family devotions. Did the kids enjoy singing songs about Jesus? Do that more. Did they ask more questions when you read a Bible story? Make Bible stories the main part of the devotion. Try different Bible based activities and see how each child responds. Then repeat and build on the one that most respond to the best. The more interesting and fun family devotional time is for everyone (including you), the more likely you will do it again. Make it a happy time that everyone looks forward to!

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
Philippians 4:4

Learn and change what did not go well during the Family Devotion

Some days, the kids will be tired and cranky. Other times, you might not even have the energy to lead a quick song about the Armor of God—especially with all the hand motions. Learn from what does not go well on those days. In our house for instance, on days the kids are tired, we sing more Bible based songs, then we find one verse related to the song in the Bible. On calmer days, we read more. Find the rhythm that works for your family on both the up and the down days.

Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.
2 Timothy 4:2

Final thoughts

Remember, you can do it!

The more time we spend in the Word of God, the more we get to know Him personally. He becomes more real to us and our children as we spend time with Him. Jesus is present where two or three are gathered in His name. This includes our homes, when we have family devotions.

You are more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus. Keep going!

In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
Romans 8:37

Read this next post on how we applied these and other tips to make our family devotions stick!