How to Make Family Devotions a Habit

Making family devotions a habit can be tough. With school, work, extracurriculars, and all the other things that make up our lives, finding the time to sit down and study God’s Word as a family can be a challenge. Making that practice a habit can be even harder.

But with a few simple tips and some determination, you can make family devotions a habit in your household. Imagine your kids looking forward to spending some time in God’s Word and being able to apply it to their lives! You can make this happen, and you can make it into a habit that comes easily to your family, when you find the right approach and stick with it.

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Devotions vs. Bible Study: What’s the Difference?

In our family, we do both devotions and Bible study. While similar, these two practices do have some differences.

Bible study involves longer Bible passages and in-depth study of Scripture. Bible study, as the name suggests, is grounded in Scripture and focuses on the Bible and the stories that we find there.

Devotions contain a Bible passage and a commentary and are often (but not always) accompanied by a prayer. A devotion (or a devotional) is more of a short reflection on a passage of Scripture, rather than an in-depth study. A devotion also tends to contain less Scripture and more commentary.

Family devotions and family Bible study are both excellent practices for strengthening faith in your kids. Bible study will help your kids to become familiar with God’s big story, and with all the stories that we find in Scripture. Devotions will help reinforce Biblical truths and encourage your kids to think about how Scripture applies to their lives and the world around them.

An important thing to note: devotions and Bible study can often overlap. These aren’t always two completely distinct things. Rather, it might be helpful to think of devotions and Bible study as two ends of a spectrum, where on one end (devotions) you find a single Bible verse and a commentary on it, and on the other end (Bible study) you find an extensive passage from the Bible and in depth questions, background information, and reflection opportunities.

Our favourite family Bible study + family devotional is Long Story Short and Old Story New. These two books will take your family through the entire Old Testament and New Testament in 10 minutes a day (over the course of 2-3 years). These books are a wonderful combination of devotional and Bible study: you get to know the stories of Scripture (like God’s promise to Abraham, the story of Joseph and his brothers, Israel’s wandering in the desert…) in depth, but the lessons are short and full of life application. We go through these devotions over supper time or at bedtime each night, and we count it as our family Bible study.

5 Benefits of Family Devotions

There are many benefits of doing daily devotions together as a family. Let’s explore 5 big ones right now.

1. A strong faith is built at home.
2. You are investing in your children’s spiritual growth.
3. Family devotion time provides your kids time to ask questions.
4. Family devotion time can open the door to meaningful conversations with your children.
5. Family devotions promote connection and unity in families.

1. A strong faith is built at home.

Proverbs 22:6 says, “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.”

Teaching your kids about Jesus and getting them into the habit of daily devotions will help to instill good spiritual habits in your children. What we teach our kids when they’re young and still under our rooves tends to stick with them. Getting your family into the habit of doing daily devotions can help to nurture this habit of dwelling in God’s Word in your kids.

Not only that, but studies have shown that the kids with the strongest faith are those who’s faith is practiced regularly in the home, and not just in church on Sunday mornings. Parents who model Christian values in the home have a tremendous opportunity to help shape their children’s spiritual growth and their religious and spiritual habits.

2. You are investing in your children’s spiritual growth.

Starting a habit of daily devotions with your family is an investment in your children’s spiritual growth. You are cultivating good spiritual habits, and you are teaching your kids what it looks like to seek God first.

God tells us as much in the Bible as well. Take Deuteronomy 6:6-9, for example: “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.  Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.  Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” God tells us to construct healthy habits of relying on him, learning his commandments, and teaching his story (the story of creation, the fall, and salvation) to our kids.

Making family devotions a regular habit is one way that you can impress God’s commandments on your children, and teach them how to follow Jesus in their own lives.’ While none of us can guarantee that our kids will take their childhood faith with them when they grow, we can help them to build good habits and we can model what a relationship with Jesus looks like.

3. Family devotion time provides your kids time to ask questions.

When you provide a regular opportunity for your family to dwell in God’s Word, you give your kids the chance to ask questions. And if we don’t give our children this opportunity, it is unlikely that they will come to us with their questions all on their own.

When my kids were really young, the types of questions they were asking were things like, “Who would win in a fight, the Hulk or Jesus?” But as they got older, they started to ask harder questions, and questions that they were sincerely wrestling with. Questions like, “Why does God let bad things happen?” I treasure these opportunities to address these questions head on, because our kids will ask these questions eventually. Allowing them to question and explore their faith while we, as parents, still hold positions of authority, and while they still trust us to help them find answers, means that we can help them to navigate any challenges and doubts before we release them into an increasingly-secular world all on their own.

4. Family devotion time can open the door to meaningful conversations with your children.

Family devotion time lends itself naturally to conversations about big and important topics, like death, anxiety, bullying, the standards of God vs. the standards of the world, and many, many others.

You can choose a devotional about science, for example, and teach your kids about the majesty of God’s creation. Lou Giglio’s How Great is Our God is one of our absolute favourites that talks about science and the Bible, tying the majesty of creation back to Biblical truths.

Family devotion time will naturally lead to conversations with your kids about how they can apply Biblical truths to their own lives. When you find a devotional that they like, it will make it not only applicable, but exciting.

5. Family devotions promote connection and unity in families.

Setting aside time away from distractions to focus on God’s Word helps families to strengthen connections. It provides the opportunity to share stories, fears, doubts, and how you overcome challenges that you face. By sharing your life in this way, you can help your kids navigate their own faith.

Sharing our hearts, our hopes, and our fears, and lifting them all up to God in prayer, lets our kids see what it looks like to trust God and to rely on him, in good times and in times of trouble. We can help our kids to understand how God loves them, and how he is in control. Praying together during family devotion time is also a powerful way to share our innermost hopes and fears with one another, and to reassure each other that God ultimately works all things for our good.

10 Tips for Making Family Devotion Time a Daily Habit

How do you do daily devotions with your family?

Family devotion time may look different for each individual family. What’s most important in making family devotions a daily habit is that you find a plan that works for your own situation and you stick to it.

Here are 10 tips for making family devotion time a daily habit.

1. Make a plan and stick to it.
2. Pick a time of day that works for your family.
3. Choose a devotional that your family enjoys.
4. Include everyone, even the littles.
5. Begin small.
6. Keep it short.
7. Keep it simple.
8. Don’t get discouraged.
9. Keep it fun and entertaining.
10. But don’t sacrifice engagement for entertainment.

1. Make a plan and stick to it.

Persistence is your friend when trying to establish a new habit. Make a plan for starting family devotions and stick with it. You can make some changes to your plan as you go. But don’t give up. Try different types of devotionals, or different mediums (like Lego building), until you find something that resonates with your kids and your family.

2. Pick a time of day that works for your family.

We do our daily family devotions at suppertime (or at bedtime if we miss our suppertime devotion that day). After we finish eating, I serve the kids desert and I will read our daily devotion. This works well for us because I have a captive audience: they have their cookies, or their ice cream, and they are all still sitting around the table. Everyone gets to leave the table after we’re done our devotion.

Maybe a mealtime devotion would work for your family. Those are great because the kids are already gathered around the table and they aren’t going anywhere. But if you have a work schedule or extracurriculars that mean that you don’t often eat dinner together as a family, then pick a different time to do your family devotions.

Maybe at the breakfast table would work for your family, before everyone goes off on their own tasks for the day. Or maybe you incorporate family devotions into your bedtime routine.

Whatever you choose, just find a time that works for your unique situation and stick with it. It might be hard at first (establishing any habit takes work), but if you persevere, you will be rewarded in the end.

3. Choose a devotional that your family enjoys.

Choosing something that your family enjoys is crucial to making daily devotions a regular habit.

We had to try out a few different devotionals before we found the ones that resonate most with our kids. My husband and I have two boys who are really into good guys vs. bad guys, Minecraft, and Lego. They are also really into science and learning about the world.

So we tend to pick devotions like The Action Bible Anytime Devotions, a Minecraft devotional, and the How Great is our God series. My kids have also started building Bible scenes out of Lego (you can check out our David and Goliath lesson here) and making stop motion animation videos with Bible stories.

As you try different devotionals, you’ll quickly discover which kinds resonate most with your kids.

4. Include everyone, even the littles.

No one is too young (or too old) for family devotions. While the smallest of kids may not seem to be paying attention or absorbing any information, you are shaping habits in them and they do pick up a lot more than you may realize.

For the smallest kids, it’s okay to give them some blocks or clay to play with as they listen (or not) to the devotion. Eventually, they will become full participants in family devotions and it will feel quite natural to them.

My First Hands on Bible makes for a great devotion for preschoolers and kindergarteners. But even if you have a range of ages, let your smallest kids participate with the older kids in what they are doing. (Giving them blocks, crayons, or a lump of clay works wonders. Once they are old enough, they can respond to the devotion creatively.)

5. Begin small.

You don’t need an elaborate plan, a lot of materials, or even a lot of time. Start small. Pick up a devotional that looks like it will work for you family and pick 10 minutes in your day when you’re all together.

6. Keep it short.

Kids have a short attention span and they get wiggly really fast. Keep your daily devotions to 5-15 minutes. If your kids discover something that they love and want to draw it out, then run with it, but plan for short devotions to keep your kids engaged.

7. Keep it simple.

Especially if you are not already in the habit of doing regular family devotions, keep it simple. Grab a book that your family likes and read through it. You don’t need crafts or elaborate activities if you don’t want them. A simple Bible verse, reflection, and a prayer is a great way to do a family devotion.

8. Don’t get discouraged.

Starting a new habit is hard, regardless of what it is. Add onto that the fact that kids are wiggly, easily distractible, and loud, and you might be tempted to get discouraged if your family devotion practice doesn’t go smoothly.

But keep at it and try not to get discouraged. Kids absorb a lot more than you may realize, even when it seems like they are not paying attention. There have been many times when I thought my kids were just fooling around and not paying attention, but then when I ask them a question, they have an insightful (and correct) answer.

The more your keep at your family devotion practice, the more your kids will absorb, and the more it will become habit.

9. Keep it fun and entertaining.

I cannot stress enough the importance of finding a medium that your kids connect with. If your kids think that the devotion that you are working through is boring, they will quickly lose interest and you may lose motivation.

Keeping family devotion time fun and entertaining doesn’t have to mean that you sacrifice content and engagement, or that you are just out to entertain your children.

Rather, find something that connects with your kids and really lean into it. If your kids are into Lego, then pick up the Brick Builder’s Bible (great for preschool, kindergarten, and early elementary) or Building Faith Brick by Brick (a great interactive way to explore the Bible stories with kids of any age). Let your kids build Bible scenes and stories out of Lego.

One of my kids loves science and learning about the world, so we’ve read through Lou Giglio’s How Great is Our God multiple times.

Grab The Very Best, Hands-on, Kinda Dangerous Family Devotions if you want to go on elaborate adventures with your family. Or pick up One Year of Dinner Table Devotions and Discussion Starters if you want something simple and straightfoward to promote discussion around the dinner table.

When you find something that connects with your kids, and that they enjoy, then making family devotions a daily habit and something that they look forward to will become much easier.

10. But don’t sacrifice engagement for entertainment.

While I think it is important to have something that your kids get excited about, your job is not just entertainment. Family devotions should engage your kids and get the Bible stories into their heads and into their bones (so to speak). Family devotions aren’t just about Bible crafts, or flashy object lessons (both of which can be great if you want to use them). Primarily, you are trying to teach your kids God’s big story of creation, the fall, and salvation, and you are trying to get them to apply Biblical truths to their lives.

How to Make Family Devotions a Habit

If you are not in the habit yet of doing daily family devotions, here’s how you can start and lead family devotions with your own kids.

• Pick a time and place that works for your family. Some ideas: dinner time, breakfast time, bedtime, after school.
• Set aside 5-15 minutes.
• Find a devotional that you like. (There are some suggestions to get you started below.)
• Read, learn, and pray along with your kids. This is important: you don’t have to know everything, and you don’t have to know all the answers to their questions. Learn along with them. Admit when you don’t know things. Find answers together.

When you stick with this habit, eventually it will become a regular part of your family routine and your kids will become eager participants.

Best Family Devotions Books

Here are some excellent family devotions to explore. Pick one that you like and run with it.

Long Story Short and Old Story New

These are probably my favourite two books for family devotions and Bible study. Long Story Short will take you through the entire Old Testament. Old Story New will take you through the entire New Testament. And both can be done in 10 minutes a day. These are great for all ages. Get them on Amazon here.

One Year of Dinner Table Devotions and Discussion Starters

This collection of devotions and discussion starters is perfect for dinner time devotions. Each devotion incorporates scripture, as well as real-life examples/applications and thought-provoking discussion questions. These devotions are short, quick, and engaging. Perfect for early-elementary-aged kids and older. Get it on Amazon here.

How Great is Our God

This devotional is perfect for the kid who is curious about science and the world around them. How Great is Our God explores topics like space and time, plants, animals, the human body, and more. It includes a Bible verse, a cool science reflection, life-application of the Bible verse, and a closing prayer.

We’ve been through this devotional multiple times, and my kids have requested that we pre-order every new one in series as it comes out.

This is great for elementary-aged kids. Get it on Amazon here.

Indescribable for Little Ones

This is Louie Giglio’s devotional for the smallest kids (ages 0-4). A board book that explores the majesty of God’s creation. Teach your kids about science, earth, animals, and people while exploring Biblical truths. Get it on Amazon here.

The Very Best, Hands-on, Kinda Dangerous Family Devotions

If you want something active and engaging instead of sitting around a table-type of discussion, then this devotional is for you. This book will have your family learning Biblical truths by doing things like converting a leaf blower into a toilet paper launcher and cracking combination locks. For truly memorable devotions, try this out. This is great for all ages, but parent supervision is definitely required. Get it on Amazon here.