About a year ago, I began evaluating all areas of our kid’s lives to see if I could create more independence for my seven children. I began to realize that I wanted to give them the skills for good daily habits in their adulthood. One of the habits I wanted to create was a daily devotion time with God.

What is a Bible devotion for kids or teenagers?

Bible devotions for kids or teenagers are quiet times typically done in the morning or at bedtime. They read a passage from the bible and a short story or paragraph that demonstrates the application of the verses. The goal is to create a daily habit that brings them closer to God.

When I was growing up, we would get Keys for Kids in the mail. My parents would read the short stories to me and my sister. To be really honest with you, I still remember some of those stories, key points, and the verses that went with them.

Why are Bible devotions important?

Now, it wasn’t like my kiddos weren’t studying God’s word, they were. We have a very intense bible study that we use as a bible curriculum for our homeschool. This requires a few hours a week studying the bible with our family and small groups.

I saw the need for the daily bible devotions as an opportunity to create the habit for my children. I wanted them to have the tools to have a time with God on their own. I didn’t want them to have the impression that they needed to have the family around for them to meet with God.

I wanted them to have a daily check-in with God. A relationship with God is imperative and I feel the need to cultivate my own relationship with God on a daily basis. I wanted the same for them.

I know I talk about the character of my children a lot on this blog but it is very important to us. The daily devotional time allows them to develop their character as they are reading, praying and learning through God’s Word.

It’s amazing because the things that we study as a family have a way of coming out during their own bible devotion time. This is the perfect chance for their faith to increase as they realize that God is in the details and He wants to meet them where they are.

When do they do their Bible Devotion?

When our children get up in the morning, they have a morning checklist they work through. This list includes everything like eat breakfast, do chores, personal hygiene and bible devotion time so they have a scheduled time to complete their bible devotion time. This method allows them to do it without me constantly nagging or reminding them. With the number of children I have, I would definitely miss checking in with one or two of them.

However, doing them right before bedtime is a good idea too. It can provide an opportunity for the child’s mind to be put at rest as a part of their unwinding.

I just want to take the power struggle out of it. I want it to be just something they automatically do, not something I am constantly arguing with them to get done.

Who does the devotions?

Everyone but Georgie Lou, age 3, have a list to work through each morning so everyone except for her does the Bible devotions. However, sometimes, Nikki, age 5, will include her in her personal devotion and they will read and listen through it together.

How do we do it?

Actually, this is my favorite part to talk about. When I started thinking about this idea, I had some goals I felt needed to be met:

• It needed to be simple.
• I needed something that included non-readers.
• It needed to be interesting and fun.
• It needed to be rich with character-building attributes.
• I needed something directed at teenagers too.

Simplicity

I did not want this to be a cumbersome time every morning. I wanted them to look forward to reading and learning about God. I needed it to be easy for me to implement. If there is anything I’ve learned, especially having a big family, if it is not simple it won’t get done. I didn’t want to go through all this work and invest in the books in vain.

I wanted it to take them between five and ten minutes each day. I felt like this would work into our morning routine well. We always feel like it has to be a long time but I felt like this would be age-appropriate with their attention span. Again, this was not designed to be our bible study but was going to teach them how to check in with God every morning.

Since we have so many children, I needed at least six options for them to pick from.

The One-Year Devotions for Kids series reminds me of the devotions I mentioned earlier that I read when I was a kid. I think that’s one of the reasons I picked these for my own kiddos.

There is a devotion for each day of the year and each one offers the following attributes:

• A scripture passage to read
• A story which demonstrated how to apply the scripture in our life today
• A self-reflection portion where they ask questions about how they can change things in their own life today
• A short scripture to memorize

Non-Readers

Another challenge I had was for my children who could not read. I have a morning list to complete too and so I couldn’t see myself consistently doing the devotion with my non-readers. It was an unrealistic expectation. Plus the whole point of this exercise was to let them do it themselves. I began to research audiobook options. I found this book called “Bible Story Favorites.”

It has a cd with five read-along bible stories with illustrated pictures and simple sentences. There is a bell type sound every time the child is supposed to turn the page.

Keep their interest

The One Year Book of Devotions also has a devotional called “Did You Know, Devotions for Kids.” This is a really neat book that has a lot of interesting facts and is perfect for those kiddos who ask a lot of questions. It answers all kinds of different and unique things.

It is set up very similar to the first one I mentioned above although they are a bit shorter than the first one. Each devotional offers:

• A fact-based question
• A scripture reading
• The answer to the question
• Spiritual application to our life today
• Memory Verse

This devotional is perfect for the kiddo who likes to read true non-fiction stories. I have a few of those!

My First Hands-On Bible features the New Living Translation. The New Living Translation (NLT) is a translation that interprets the entire thought instead of word for word. I think this translation is simpler to understand and read while keeping the integrity of the original text.

I love this bible because it features a bible story and then offers various sensory ideas you can do with the child. It also has a prayer and some discussion questions to do with the child.

Character Traits

The One Year Book of Devotions for Kids and The One Year Book of Bible Devotions for Kids 2 are full of thought-provoking ideas for all ages. Honestly, I enjoy reading them. They explain the goal for our Christian walk in a way that the children understand and comprehend.

I have had countless times where my children have read the story and what they walked away with was just mind-blowing. For example, Bella, age 10, wrote “Be patient and do it one step at a time. If we don’t, it won’t go right.” This spoke to me on the day she wrote it, and it spoke to me today too.

Teenagers and Youth

To be really honest with you, my teenager would love The One Year Book of Devotions for Kids series but when it says “kids” it turns him away. He definitely needs something more grown-up. I found two options for him and I asked him which one is his favorite. He said he loved them both but “Jesus Freaks: Martyrs” by dc Talk was his number one.

This book has a really cool look with a rugged looking exterior and rough-edged pages. It just feels like a teen book. It is divided into short stories that feature the testimonies of countless martyrs. It is thought-provoking as you put yourself in that person’s shoes and wonder “What would I have done?”

The second option is called “Triple Dog Dare” by Jeremy V. Jones. This is a very cool looking both inside and out that is very appealing to teenagers. Each devotion offers the following traits:

• Scripture Reading
• Truth Thought
• A Dare to do things differently in our life
• A call to make a plan to do things differently

I hope this post encourages you to implement something like this within your own family. I have seen my kiddos grow closer to God and create the habits that will continue to grow their relationship.

Thank you for reading!