A Prayer for my Children

O Father of all souls, I beseech Thee. You have entrusted to me the nurturing of these young one's faith and I greatly tremble. It's hard for me to trust myself so I put my confidence in You. Go before me Lord. Prepare their hearts and open their understanding. Your Word is truth and is alive. Forbid, dear Master, that Your glory be confounded by my foolishness. Speak to them Lord through Your Holy Spirit. Show Yourself, yes, even the things too wondrous for us to behold. Let them not remain as hearers of bible stories but make them lovers of You, O Great Reality of all ages.

A Heart for Teaching

How can we be effective in our teachings? I dote on kids but I’m not naturally good in handling them. Will that excuse me from my responsibility? Not at all! By the Father’s grace, I’m learning, though gradually. In my almost two years of experience with children ministry, God taught me two things. First you must have a discerning heart. That ability comes only from God and it’s not something we can manufacture on our own. It comes out of spending time in prayer and study of His Word, personally knowing Him-His Holy nature in contrast to our fallen human nature. This should not come as a surprise to you but children, like Adults, do have a sinful nature (Pro_20:11  Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right). Has anyone taught a child to lie or to be selfish? And oh boy! They sure learn fast on how to manipulate their parents and teachers so that they may have their own ways. Like most of us, they want to feel good about themselves and I love showering them with compliments. However, we should be careful to give praises when it is due and not unnecessarily just to keep them. Does that mean that we should ignore what they say when we know for sure that they’re just bragging their good deeds? Certainly not! We can encourage them to carry on but point them to the One who should receive glory in all things. Personally, I think it essential to clearly communicate to children that they were made primarily for God’s glory and not for themselves nor their teachers and not even their parents (1 Cor. 10:31). Second, effectiveness in teaching requires constancy on your knees, solely dependent on God’s supernatural work between you and the kids. I’ve seen authoritative teachers, lenient teachers, entertaining teachers, and other sorts in between but none made the most impact in shaping a child’s spirituality than the one who habitually prays for his/her students.

Battling for Our Children's Souls

Psa_34:11 Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

 
What a pitiful fact! The devil has more than 5 days to mold the minds of children while we only have 2! These are the ones whose families are not Scripture-grounded.Regardless of their motives in joining the group, be it food, candies, or friends, once God puts them under our care, we are accountable of their spirituality. Redeeming the time is of utmost importance. We are more than just story tellers and game masters. We should have a goal on the forefront of our minds for them. Will we just content ourselves having them color pictures, sing songs, listen to random bible stories which sounded more like a fairytale to them than a historical fact? Should we not go the extra mile of really teaching them biblical truths about God in those songs and stories? Yes, children’s attention span is very short; therefore you need to be animated in your delivery. Don’t forget though that your main job is to teach and not to entertain. Lead them to know God (his nature character, and attributes) and not just GMRC or teeny weenie things about Him. In everything, God should be the main attraction. Let me put it this way; it’s like a play, God is the main actor while the bible characters are just but a stage where He displays His faithfulness, kindness, goodness, and all that He is. Why is that necessary, you may ask? As they grow up, they would hear many voices which would strongly beguile them. They won’t be able to stand spiritually if they haven’t truly known and loved God. Take the life of King Joash (2 Chronicles 23, 24) as an example. He was made king at the age of 7 and grew up under the supervision of Jehoiada, the priest. All the days of the priest, he did that which was right in God’s eyes but the time Jehoiada died, he became evil. What does that show us? Joash’s devotion for God in his youth was merely because of the priest’s influence. God forbid these precious little souls will turn out like him!

“Lord, I thank you for the children you gave me to love. Equip me to become a teacher of all good things (Titus 2:3). By the power of Your Holy Spirit, make them understand great truths from Your Word. Keep each one of them and let none go astray. May they grow knowing and loving You. In Christ’s Name, Amen."

Why are Children My Blessings?

They taught me more than I did to them. They taught me to love unconditionally, to graciously serve others, and to show compassionate mercy. Their innocent faith is so pure and sincere you’ll be embarrassed to stand before God with them.