Is the idea of family devotions a new one for you? Is it something you are realizing the importance of as you raise your children in this crazy world? So many lies compete in our culture. We need to find ultimate truth in God and His Word. However, to recognize the lies of Satan, your children need to know what the Bible says. Using family devotional books can help guide you on this journey.
Devotional books aren’t to be used in place of the Bible, but as a supplement to guide you through the Bible either as a whole or by topic. You will want to make sure whatever devotional book you’re using is pointing you to the Bible as the final authority.
Why Should I start Family Devotions?
Each day, we need to be in the Scriptures and in prayer. We need to be teaching our children God’s ways and His truth. We are responsible for raising our children in the Lord, so this is why some kind of family devotions or family worship is important.
By walking through the Bible as a family, you are able to discuss meanings, work through questions and doubts, and learn together about God and how He wants you to live. It is a way to grow closer together as a family, but also closer in relationship to God.
God and His Word need to be at the forefront of what we teach our children. Our actions and our talk need to match up as we teach our children how a follower of Christ should live. Family devotions or family worship is a great way to grow together.
How do You Start a Family Devotion?
Family devotional time doesn’t need to be fancy or take tons of prep time. The most important thing is to just start. Find a time that works for your family. After breakfast or dinner or before bed are common times that work for many families. You may even choose to do a short family devotional at breakfast and a longer time of reading the Bible together in the evening. Also, make sure each of your children has a Bible of their own.
Using a family devotional book is a great way to get started. Many of these books explain how to use them, have Scripture to read, and also some discussion questions. Also, spend some time in prayer as a family.
Related: Children’s Bibles Top Picks
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Family Devotional Books
What are some good devotionals? Our family has used many good family devotional books over the years. Most of the ones I will share are ones we have personally used. Do you have a favorite? If so, please be sure to let me know in the comments.
Best Family Devotional Books
Alright! Let’s jump into these family devotionals. If you’re not looking to buy a book right now, keep reading because there are free options available. Also, you may want to know about these for a later time or to share with a friend.
- Long Story Short: Ten-Minute Devotions to Draw Your Family to God. I really love this devotional! It basically walks you and your family through the Old Testament and shows how everything points to Jesus and the Gospel. It’s companion, Old Story New, goes through the New Testament and shows how everything points back to Christ. It’s really amazing!
- Our 24 Family Ways: A Family Devotional is a great resource to help teach your family biblical truths, character, and the importance of a relationship with God. There are 24 Bible truths for your children to memorize, along with devotionals, Scripture verses, character trait definitions, and coloring pages. This is something you can probably go back to again and again. We’ve been through it twice so far.
- One Year of Dinner Table Devotions and Discussion Starters: 365 Opportunities to Grow Closer to God as a Family is perfect to pull out after a family meal. It’s designed to give you ten to fifteen minutes of discussion as a family. This works best if you have at least some older children.
- Essential Truths of the Christian Faith is a fantastic catechism-type book to teach your children doctrinal truths. You may want to skim each lesson ahead of time and make sure it lines up with your beliefs, but each question or topic has many verses that it bases the answer on. There were very few that I skipped or changed a bit.
- The One Year Book of Josh McDowell’s Family Devotions: A Daily Devotional for Passing Biblical Values to the Next Generation. If you’re looking for great family discussion over right vs. wrong scenarios, then this is a great devotional. Your family will learn how Scripture can be applied to everyday situations. I haven’t personally used this one, but I plan to add it to our list.
- The 10 Minute Bible Journey is especially perfect for families that are newer to Christianity and don’t really know the Bible. This 52 lesson book will walk you through the Bible. It also has great illustrations and a timeline.
- Faith Forward Family Devotional is another devotional that walks you through the Bible. Each day, there is a key idea or character trait about God pointed out, which I love. There are also discussion questions. It says it’s geared for ages 8-12 especially, but I found it could be used for wider range than that. I wouldn’t use it if you have all older children though.
As moms, unless we prioritize our relationship with God, it can easily fall by the wayside. Learn more about growing closer to God. As we grow closer to Him, we become a better wife and mother as well.
Free family devotions
If you don’t want to or can’t use a book right now, there are some great free family devotions available as well as tools to keep your family on track when reading through God’s Word. If you know of other free options, please let me know.
- FREE Family Devotions, 147-day Devotional. This devotional will walk you through the life of Jesus.
- 52 FREE family devotions – These short devotions from Focus on the Family will help you plant seeds of faith in your family.
- YouVersion app has family devotionals, devotions for kids, or Bible reading plans just taking you through the Bible. We’ve done a “chapter a day” plan, which takes you through the Bible in 3 years. We’re currently using a plan to take us through the Bible chronologically.
Family Devotion Challenge
The spiritual growth of your family should be of the highest priority. While you can certainly just open the Bible and read and discuss, sometimes it’s also helpful to use a devotional guide. If you aren’t currently in God’s Word as a family, what is holding you back? Do you have a Family Devotional Book you’ve used and loved? Please be sure to comment below.
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