How to Encourage the Growth of a Personal Relationship with God in Your Child
Revelation 3:20 says, “Look, I’m standing at the door and knocking. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I’ll come in and we’ll eat together, both of us.”
In Genesis 3, God said that Adam and Eve were very close to him. They were so close to and close to God that they walked with Him in the garden and even talked to Him directly.
But when they sinned, they lost this freedom, and God and man were no longer close. But after hundreds of years of suffering, God sent his favorite son Jesus Christ to die for our sins. Jesus was killed, and then he came back to life. This showed that He had won over sin and death.
Romans 8:1 says, “Therefore, those who are in Christ Jesus are no longer under condemnation.”
By accepting this gift, we show God that we are good and can have a relationship with Him. We can start to have a personal relationship with God when we realize we need Him, admit we are sinners, and put our faith in Jesus Christ to save us. God has always wanted to be close to us and have a relationship with us.
When kids know God on a personal level, He is a part of their everyday lives. They, too, talk to God through prayer and read His words to learn more about Him. They look for wisdom (James 1:5) and pray through Christ Jesus (John 15:16) because they know that God loves us and value that Christ gave His life to bring us closer to God.
John 15:5 says, “I am the vine, and you are the branches. Whoever stays in me and I in him bears much fruit, because without me you can’t do anything.”
People who have a personal relationship with God stay with God, and God stays with them. This can be hard for kids to fully understand and, as a result, fully care about. But here are four ways you can help your child develop a personal relationship with God on their level:
Recognize that God is everywhere
Teach your child to find a quiet place to clear their minds, tune out the noise of the world around them, and open their hearts to God’s presence. When they do this, they make room in their heart for the Holy Spirit to come in. Encourage them to go to places they like, like their treehouse, swing set, or indoor fort, where they can talk to God in a familiar setting.
We also need to teach our kids that God is everywhere at once. Tell them that God is all around them and that His Holy Spirit is inside of them. Remind them that God is with them and cheering them on at school, at home, in karate class, and at sports practice.
Teach your kids to ask God for help, especially when they are worried or in trouble. Helping them do this on a regular basis helps them find God on their own.
Join in prayer
Children usually have a lot of problems at school or with their friends. When they tell you their worries, make sure to ask if you can pray together about it.
As parents, it’s important to teach your kids to pray to the Lord about their problems. Give them your advice and suggestions, but most of all, tell them to pray about it.
Teach them to pray to God whenever they are sick, going through a hard time, or need help in some way. In this way, you are getting them ready for when you won’t be there to help them. It also helps them trust their heavenly Father more.
When little kids don’t pray, it’s sometimes because they don’t know how. You can help them by giving them a step-by-step plan, such as giving thanks, asking for forgiveness, and then making special requests to God.
You could also teach your young children specific prayers, such as the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6:9–13. You can also teach them how to say Bible verses like Psalm 23, Psalm 91, and others. These will give them a spiritual weapon and help them have more faith in God when things get hard.
Show that you know how to worship God with a clean heart.
As parents, we need to teach our kids as early as possible how important it is to worship God. We need to tell them how much God values worship and how He rewards people who worship Him in a sincere way.
To worship God well, they must follow the two most important rules of worship, which are found in John 4:23: “But the time is coming, and it has come, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, because that is how the Father wants to be worshiped. After that, Jesus stressed these two rules: “God is a spirit, and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and truth” (John 4:24).
Teach them different worship songs and include worship in things they do every day, like going to school, cleaning their playroom, or getting ready for bed.
Show them how to recognize God’s voice.
As your kids get older and need to make more important decisions, tell them to look to God in ways they haven’t before. You can do this by letting them help you decide what to do when you’re praying about something and don’t know what to do.
In these situations, let them know that the family prays to God and asks Him to speak to their hearts and show them what the right choice is.
Including your kids in the process of figuring out what God is saying as a family helps them grow closer to God. It also helps them accept the final choice, even if it goes against what they want.
When kids are taught from a young age how to listen and tell the real voice of God from other voices, it makes their faith stronger. As they keep getting older and making bigger decisions, they also become more eager to ask God for help in every part of their lives.
Children who have learned to recognize God’s voice are not easily fooled and don’t fall for the devil’s tricks. Helping your kids become interested in hearing God’s voice will also help them get closer to Him.
As a parent, it’s your job to teach your children how to follow the Lord. God gave you these kids, but He still wants you to bring them back to Him and give Him their hearts and souls. Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he won’t leave it.” As a parent, you can’t teach your child everything they need to know. The only way you can help them learn everything is by teaching them to listen to and recognize the voice of the Holy Spirit.
It’s not as hard as you might think to show your child how to get to know God on a personal level. After all, kids do what their parents do, so the more time and effort you put into your relationship with God, the more eager your kids will be to do the same.
When you pray and think about the Bible with your child, you show them that God can be trusted. If they believe that God is their Provider, they will have a stronger relationship with Him.
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