“So the next generation would know them, even children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget His deeds.”

Psalm 78:6-7

Often I am asked, “Becky, how do I pass my faith on to my kids successfully?” That’s a great question and before I start, let me just say there is not an easy answer to that question.   While parents do bear heavy responsibility for how well they pass on their faith, kids have the right to make their own decision. Remember, God was the perfect parent but His kids sure screwed up in the garden.  Having said that, and after reading the words in Psalm 78, I have a few suggestions:

• Become a parent of integrity. In other words, your kids will learn to trust God in part based on whether or not they can trust you. Ask yourself, “Do I keep my promises?” “Does my child feel safe with me?”
• Learn to tell stories.  Don’t preach. Don’t lecture. Tell your kids stories not only from the Bible but also from your own faith journey. Tell them the miracles you personally have seen God accomplish and tell them the times you failed and how you experienced God’s grace. When our kids were growing up, Steve told them stories often of His grandparents and the miracles they had seen while bringing the gospel to Nigeria. He told them of miracles he had seen in his parents lives and he also told them honestly of his own failures. Jesus was the master story teller. Follow His example.
• Praise God for your kids. From the moment you know you are pregnant praise God for the child in your womb and don’t stop praising God for that child until you die. Praising God has unique power in our lives to not only change us as parents but also to accomplish victories on behalf of our child. Faithfully, unleash the power of praise in your home and over your kids.
• Pray scripture. Have a set of verses that you faithfully pray over each of your children. For example for one of my kids I faithfully prayed, Ephesians 1:17-20. For another child, I often prayed Joshua 1:9. Choose verses specific to each child and their needs and faithfully pray those passages over your child.

Again, there are no guarantees but I have found that following these principles has greatly helped me in my parenting journey. I would love to hear from those of you who are parents. Leave a comment. I’ll choose a comment and give away a FREE copy of The 30 Day Praise Challenge for Parents.