And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and went. ~ Matthew 21:29
Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, to malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men. ~ Titus 3:1-2
If we’re really honest with ourselves, we probably don’t like that verse in Titus. And from day one, our kids have that same sin nature. Jesus knows this, which is why he told us the parable of the prodigal son. All of us have disobeyed, but through repentance, we turn back to the One whom we know loves us unconditionally.
The more God forgives me, the more I desire to obey him. Sin seems more awful the more you deal with it. God must be the one who deals with the hearts of our children, but we can lead them to pray for the desire to obey him and the authorities placed over them.
Who DID Have the Desire to Obey?
If you haven’t already, introduce your children and students to Samuel. Samuel was human…although there are times when I wonder. (Just kidding!) The scriptures give us an amazing look into Samuel’s life. We get to watch him grow up. We watch Samuel’s mama praying for him. We watch her give Sam over to Eli. And we watch how Sam dealt with authority. Read 1 Samuel 3 with your children and discuss these questions:
- What did Sam hear in the night?
- To whom did he run?
- Did he listen to the advice given to him?
- What was the result of Samuel listening to Eli?
- What did the voice tell Samuel?
- Did Samuel want to tell Eli what the Lord had told him?
- Did he obey anyway?
- What would you have done if you were Samuel?
Prepare to Pray!
Discuss with your child which requests they have a hard time obeying. Is it when asked to clean the bedroom? or practice the piano? or when a teacher says to stop talking? to turn in homework on time?
Write these difficulties in your child’s prayer journal, or on a sticky note to stick to a prayer wall. Help your child to pray asking the Lord to help them *WANT to do* whatever it is that they are resisting.
Do you have older children? Have them do this exercise, but add for them to pray for YOU. Ask them to pray that you would be a good parent to them and to not aggravate them. Have them pray for you that you might have wisdom in training them in righteousness.
Now Pray!
Encourage your children to not just read the words, but to pray them.
Click on the image below for all of the articles in this series.
{All of these verses link to BibleGateway. If you would rather choose a different version of the scriptures, then click the link and choose the version you want.}
