Tag: Jesus

Teaching Faith to Children Through Songs and Prayers

Devotionals

Praying with Children: The Power of Prayer

I have three children, eleven, ten and two. My daughter, who is ten, would love to hear me sing as I settled her into bed at night. she’d often fall asleep to the sound of me singing to her. Not because I am amazing at singing or anything, but it would absolutely bring her comfort. I would usually start with the more popular songs that she enjoyed singing in nursery school. Then, as she settled, I would begin to sing songs that I made up on the spot. They were usually prayers, so I suppose it was my way of praying with her in a different way. Now that she’s ten, she doesn’t want me to sing to her anymore. I miss that, but she does want me to pray with her. Now and again I will even hear her singing her own songs that she’s made up herself. Nothing is wasted.

Praying and Singing using Scripture

I pray that your children will write or pray their own prayers and sing songs of thanks and praise in their own personal ways. I am now singing songs to my two-year-old. He drifts off into a peaceful sleep as the scripture pours out into his heart and mind. Pretty much from the moment he was born, in fact, before he even entered the world, I’ve been singing the verse from Psalm 139. ‘You are fearfully and wonderfully made’, and Psalm 23, ‘The LORD my Shepherd I shall not want, he makes me lie in pastures green, he leads me by the still waters, your goodness will lead me home.’  A couple of weeks ago, we were having our family time of prayer together. It’s not what it sounds like. We don’t all sit around a cross and pray together. It’s not formal. Let’s face it, we have three young children who often get uncontrollable giggles, ‘accidentally’ elbow each other on the settee, or start playing with a talking Thomas the Tank Engine. All intention is there, and more to the point, Jesus is with us. During our prayer time our little boy started walking around the living room singing Psalm 23! It was quite frankly amazing; in fact my daughter filmed him. All these little efforts in parenting, and all the nuggets of joy, God sees. ‘Nothing is wasted’ are the words that came to me during my beach walk this morning. Nothing is wasted. Keep making up songs. Keep gathering for prayer and bible readings, even if it seems like it’s not making a difference, it really is.

God Sees You

I have decided to share one of the songs that I recently sang to our youngest son. I hope that your family will be blessed by it. Whether you read it or sing it, it’s entirely up to you, but I’ve indicated when the verses were repeated. This is the only song I’ve written down, it’s not perfect, but it is special to me. We believe that God sees us. Our family wants to live out our faith in Jesus every day in the best way we can, whilst we are surrounded by many different circumstances. Be encouraged today that God sees you too and knows your hearts.  

I hope you enjoy the Simple prayer to thank Jesus for every blessing:

Thank you, Jesus, for being our helper, for your unfailing love and for never leaving us.

Thank you, Jesus, for teaching us, and holding us when we don’t understand.

Thank you, Jesus, for healing us, and renewing us. We praise you!

Help us to feel your light (x 3)

Oh Lord.

Singing from the rooftops, revealing your joy,

Making you known to the world, removing veils, breaking chains, bringing down strongholds, all through your power.

Renewing the mind and seeing breakthrough (x 3)

Your way is the TRUTH,

Your way is the LIGHT,

Your way is LIFE.

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

‘Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.’ (1 Corinthians 15:58, NIV)

A Testimony of God’s Word: The Little Red Book

Devotionals

When I was eleven years old, I was given a little red book, it was textured on the outside and the way it felt when I ran my fingers over it was so satisfying, it reminded of a ‘touch and feel’ book that a baby would go through. The pages of the ‘little red book’ were thin and made a crisp sound as I turned them, that resembled the crisp crunch of Autumn leaves when a child jumps up and down on them with anticipation and joy waiting to experience yet another satisfying connection with their senses. It’s easy to go about our day without recognising or appreciating our senses, to imagine what it would be like without them, how they affect our whole being, change our perception of a moment in a flash. They have a powerful way of impacting a decision that could redirect the course of our life, or how we perceive a relationship or draw a near or far from opportunities. Our senses might offer simplicity in one part of our lives, and depth or complexity in another. In every choice we make we may see, touch, smell, hear or taste to evaluate the next steps we move towards. We might run in fear, stand still in uncertainty or, with great confidence and pride, stand up tall as if we were an enormous bear in the wilderness ready to take what we believe belongs to us.

When I was eleven, I took ownership of my ‘little red book’ that was handed to me, and with a deep sense of knowledge that it was a special book, wrote my name in the back with pride. Perhaps not as fiercely as a grizzly bear but certainly with the purpose of ensuring that nobody else would snatch it out of my hands. It was as if, without knowing at the time, that I was already being prepared to ‘hold on tight’ to the words written on the crisp pages of this book, and ‘not let go’. I can testify now, being in my early forties that this strong, persistent, growing pursuit to ‘hold on tight’ to the words in the pages of this ‘little red book’ is ever growing and no less compulsive than the first time it came to be mine. This was the very beginning to my recognition, of my journey towards the most captivating relationship that I could ever imagine existed, and I am ever thankful and every grateful for those whose obedience in handing out these books so faithfully changed the course of my life forever. Of course, I am even more thankful for the author and creator of this ‘little red book’, that being God. The book I write about, if you haven’t come to think of it already, is my bible.

The first time the words in my ‘little red book’, really stood out to me was in 2015 before I was baptised. My husband and I were going through a financial struggle, and I remember going to my bible, opening the pages with expectancy to hear from my loving, Heavenly Father and these words jumped out of the pages and came alive in my heart,

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?“ And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Matthew 6: 25-34 NIV

I pray that you will be encouraged to seek your Heavenly Father expectantly, and hold on tight to His promises and word, because He is faithful.