Parenting toward genuine faith, not just outward compliance, is a long and humbling task. This plan explores six biblical principles for raising children in a way that honors both God and the child.
Day 1 — Woven into Daily Life
Read Deuteronomy 6:6-7.
Faith instruction is pictured as woven into ordinary moments — sitting at home, walking, lying down, rising — not confined to formal teaching sessions alone.
Try this: Look for one ordinary moment today — a car ride, a meal — to naturally bring up faith.
Day 2 — Not Provoking to Anger
Read Ephesians 6:4.
Discipline is paired with an explicit warning against provoking children to anger through harshness — correction without crushing.
Try this: Reflect honestly on your own discipline style. Is it correcting, or provoking?
Day 3 — Train Up a Child
Read Proverbs 22:6.
“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” This is a general principle of faithful investment, not an ironclad guarantee — worth trusting without demanding immediate results.
Try this: Invest faithfully today in a child’s formation, trusting long-term fruit over instant results.
Day 4 — Letting Children Come
Read Mark 10:13-16.
Jesus welcomes children warmly, even rebuking disciples who tried to turn them away — a model of warmth, not exasperated tolerance.
Try this: Practice patient warmth today with a child, rather than treating their presence as an interruption.
Day 5 — Modeling, Not Just Teaching
Read 1 Corinthians 11:1.
Paul invites others to imitate him as he imitates Christ — faith is caught through example as much as taught through instruction.
Try this: Consider what a child watching you today would actually learn about faith, apart from anything you say.
Day 6 — Praying for Your Children
Read Job 1:5.
Job regularly offers sacrifices on behalf of his children, interceding for them proactively, not just reactively.
Try this: Pray specifically and by name for a child in your life today.
Closing thought: Raising godly children isn’t a formula guaranteed to produce a specific outcome — it’s faithful, patient investment, modeled and taught, held with open hands and constant prayer.