Children can study the Bible. We can find the stories of children in the bible. They had their own special place in bible times. God used them in ways that moved His plans and purpose forward.
They were children like you, who also faced some challenges like you could be facing right now.
Studying about them helps you know how these children handled themselves and overcame the struggles they faced.
Look at the story of Samuel, Joseph, little Jesus, and others. How were children treated back then? Who were their parents? What did God say about them? This is how children can study the Bible.
Prayer: Thank you for showing me how You can use me as a child for Your plans and purpose. I bless Your Holy name. Amen
You must learn to choose your friends wisely, for they can make you or mar you. Let’s look at the story of Dele, Kemi and the purse.
“She won’t know!” Dele said, urging Kemi to take some money out of Kemi’s mother’s purse. “I don’t think she counted it.”
They were at Kemi’s house watching a movie. Kemi’s mother had just come back from the market and left her bag on the chair beside them.
“I don’t want to take her money,” Kemi said. “I can always ask her for money and she will give me.”
A friend is not supposed to encourage you to commit a sin. Stealing is a sin because you are taking what does not belong to you, even if the person is a family member, close friend, or classmate. As long as what you have taken isn’t yours and you don’t have permission to do so, it is still a sin.
Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.
1 Cor 15:33 [KJV]
Be careful of friends like Dele. Friends who urge you to steal. Don’t make friends with such people. Choose your friends wisely because your choice of friends deeply influences your choices, actions, behavior, and attitude.
Good friends help to strengthen your relationship with God and your parents. They offer help, support, encourage you to be a good person, and not the other way round. They tell you the truth when you are wrong.
Bad friends will influence in negative ways that will disturb your walk with God and keep you at loggerheads with your parents constantly. Their influence can seep deep into your whole life, causing you so much pain later in life.
Prayer: Lord, give me good friends that will help me know you more. Amen.
Action plans: Take a good look at your friends. Have there been times when they have asked you to do something wrong?
Declaration: My children are surrounded by good friends. They are not negatively influenced in Jesus name, amen.
There is what is known as the force of gratitude. Sounds huge? Let’s break it down. Ideally, when someone gives you a gift or offers a compliment, you ought to say thank you because it shows courtesy, that you are well brought up and not a country bumpkin.
Also, it’s a sacrifice on the person’s side. They decided to give you out of love or they saw that you needed something.
Even with a compliment, the person took his or her time to really look at you and decide to appreciate you for how you dressed, your hair, how clean your nails are, or how nice you smell. They noticed you.
The least you can say is thank you with a very genuine and friendly smile.
If someone pays you a compliment about how good your grades are, say thank you. That’s the force of gratitude.
The Bible tells us to be thankful and that when we are grateful for what we have, we will receive more.
There are lots of people out there looking for who to notice them and would be grateful to just have one person say to them “you look good.”
I believe you have understood the force of gratitude. Therefore, remember to say thank you the next time you get a gift or compliment.
Prayer: Lord, I am grateful for all I have. Thank you for providing for my needs. Thank you for the compliments I have gotten and will get. Help me to always appreciate whatever I receive from others. Amen.
Action plan: Consciously be aware of people’s compliments. Ensure you reply with a smile and “thank you.”
Declaration: My children are grateful. They show appreciation in all they do.
My children are preserved. God is in the business of preserving and protecting. Part of His promise to us is to be with us in trouble.
More specifically, he wants to preserve us, especially our children, from the snares of death.
One way children can make this happen is by fearing the Lord.
The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death.
Proverbs 14:27 ESV
Like we read in the scripture above, the fear of the Lord is paramount to our daily living.
When you have the fear of God, you will turn away from the snare of death.
That is, when you put the fear of God in your heart by studying and meditating on God’s word and obeying all instructions, you will be lead by God and preserved from any form of snare.
Children, decide to do it God’s way. Follow God, follow the bible and watch how God will stand up for you.
Prayer: Lord, preserve my children in Jesus name. Amen
Action point: Read, meditate, and study the word.
Declaration: My children are preserved from any form of snare.
How can you master the Voice of God? First, you must know that God speaks to everyone including children. Remember the story of little Samuel in the bible, who later became a strong prophet that ministered to the Israelites and anointed kings?
Our heavenly father wants to speak to us and He does so in different ways. One of such way is through His word- the bible. The bible is the only place where all of God’s words reside.
Reading the bible is one of the ways you can hear from God. When you read about what God did, how He did it, and who He did it for, you get to know more about God.
Maybe you are facing a situation and don’t know how to go about it, read the bible. God will speak to you through a verse or chapter. He will direct you to a book where someone just like you, faced the same dilemma you are in.
When you read through, you will learn how the person resolved it with God’s help.
or the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Heb 4:12 KJV
The bible says His words are living. They are alive, quick, and sharp. Always speaking. See it as God speaking directly to you.
What is God’s stand on judging others? There have been times when you have been so quick to judge someone without thinking before you do so. Within seconds you form an opinion of them. But Jesus warns against the dangers of doing so.
“Don’t judge other people, and you will not be judged. Don’t accuse others of being guilty, and you will not be accused of being guilty. Forgive other people, and you will be forgiven.
Luke 6:37 ICB.
You see one of your classmates with a dirty uniform and quickly you call him or her “dirty”. Well, you might not say it to their face, but in your heart you say it and it shows on your face too. You look disgusted and act snobbishly towards the person. You don’t know what happened to the person. He could have slipped and fallen down hence the dirty uniform. Or he could have been attacked by a group of bullies who roughened him up.
Or you have a classmate who fails terribly at school in exams and tests. Calling her dumb and “empty head” is judging her based on her academic prowess. You don’t know what’s happening at home with her parents. Probably she doesn’t have time to study at home because she helps her mother at their little shop. Unlike you whose parents are not selling anything!
The bottom line is this – don’t jump to conclusions about people because you don’t know what happened to them. That’s why Jesus warns that you shouldn’t judge people.
May the Holy Spirit give you a heart that loves instead of judging. Amen
PRAYER: Lord, help me not to judge others in Jesus’ name, amen.
ACTION PLAN: Watch your words and thoughts the next time you are quick to judge others.
What do you do when you are confused? Do you praise God? What do you do when you don’t know what to do? What do you do when things seem to have gone out of place?
See what the psalmist said
Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.
Ps 150:2
Just as the psalmist said, we should learn to praise God. We can focus on one of his deeds and thank him for it.
Praise him for his mighty acts. The formation of your child is a mighty act on its own. The intricate intertwining of the bones, intestines, different systems in the body et cetera, should spur you to praise God on their behalf.
Praise him for his acts of power, praise him for his magnificent greatness;
Psalm 150:2
Let’s not only praise God but encourage our children to praise as well. No child is too small to do that.
This morning, do you have a song in your heart? Sing unto Him and praise Him for His goodness.
PRAYER: Help my children to praise you always oh Lord; Amen
ACTION PLAN: Go ahead and sing a song unto God.
DECLARATION: I will praise God. My children will praise God. My family will praise God.
Yes, God has good plans for you. Have you sometimes tried to figure out what your parents have in mind?
Have you also noticed that most of the time, your parents always meet your needs, at least to a large extent?
That’s how much our parents have us in mind, how much more our Father in heaven.
Children, the Lord knew you before you were formed and He has a great plan for your life.
For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.
Jeremiah 29:11 AMP
Long before your parents ever met, the Almighty, the creator of the universe, had you in mind.
Part of having you in mind was to design and map out a path for you.
That is, God has a plan of welfare and peace and not of evil.
With the understanding of the scripture above, we should always teach our children to be confident that the Lord is always with them and has a great plan for their lives.
PRAYER: Lord, help me to believe and walk in your plans for my life. Amen
ACTION POINT: Study the word more to discover His plans for you.
DECLARATION: My children have confidence in God because He has a great plan of welfare and peace for them.
To enjoy rest means to be peaceful on all sides, having everything falling in the right places. My children have rest.
But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil confronting me.
1kings 5:4 [AMP]
To enjoy rest, one must be at the center of God’s will, that is, living righteously. Enjoying rest also means, sickness and diseases are far away from us.
See what the scriptures says somewhere else.
And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.
Exodus 23:25[KJV]
Rest also means to be physically refreshed.
Even Jesus rested immediately after creation.
And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
Genesis 2:2 [KJV]
We should always pray that our children will enjoy rest in every area of their lives and that no adversary or evil will confront them, in Jesus’ name; Amen
PRAYER: Lord, help me to rest when I should.
ACTION PLAN: Decide to take adequate rest today.
DECLARATION: My children enjoy all round rest. No sickness is found in or around them.
One thing we can equate the growth of our children to is that of a garden. My Children are as a well nurtured garden.
The bible tells us that;
May our sons in their youth be like plants full grown, our daughters like corner pillars cut for the structure of a palace;
Psalms 144:12 (ESV)
A well-nurtured garden is always pleasant to look at or to relax in, but no one will desire to stay in an untidy garden. A garden is not left all by itself to be well nurtured, it takes a conscious effort.
Likewise, for our children, we must work towards nurturing them by teaching them the word of God, praying for them, and believing in God to become what he has created them to be.
We should always pray that our children will be strong and straight and pointed toward heaven. Not dwarfed by bad habits or foolish choices, not choked out by the weeds of the world, but they will be of visible character who stands alone, strong enough to withstand the storms of life.
Also pray that God grants them visible strength, godly character, and the beauty of full development.
Prayer: Oh Lord, cause my children to be as healthy as a well-nurtured garden; Amen
Action plan: Read and study more of God’s word
Declaration: My children are blessed to flourish at an early age so that they bring forth the good fruit of godly character.
My children Are untouchable! This is still part of the blessing recorded in Deuteronomy chapter 28. It is good we know the promises of God.
When we know the promises of God, it becomes easier for us to claim these promises for ourselves and our children.
Then everyone on earth will know that you belong to the LORD, and they will be afraid of you.
Deut 28:10 CEV
This is a promise of protection, that our children are untouchable.
When our children love the Lord, they become untouchable to the world.
Prayer: Pray that your children become untouchable. Amen
Action point: Read the promise again and again till it stays.
Declaration: My children are protected, saved and secured because the Lord takes care of them. The people of the earth are afraid of them because they belong to the Lord.
Yesterday, we talked about knowing God and walking with Him. Today we will be talking about PRAYER. You should learn how to engage the force of prayer.
Jeremiah 29:12 [ESV] Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.
Prayer is an art of communication. That means, you are talking to God and God will also talk to you.
Children, learn to talk to God about anything and everything. He listens and will also talk back to you.
We receive solutions to issues when we pray. Miracles happen when we pray.
Children, learn to pray to God always.
Rather than complain, pray. Instead of worrying, pray. Instead of grumbling, pray.
We have a prayer answering God, isn’t that awesome?
Prayer for the day: My children will engage the force of prayer in Jesus name. Amen
Action point: Pray about everything.
Declaration: My children learn to pray to God always.
There is ‘how to know God More.’ In one of the past devotionals, we talked about having confidence in God because, with Him, our glorious future is secured.
We should seek to know God more, pleasing Him in all ways.
Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.
Jeremiah 29:12 ESV
If you want to know God more, you should always do the following;
Read and meditate
2. Pray
3. Confess the Word of God
4. Obey
Reading and meditating on God’s word involves you always asking the Holy Spirit to teach you and grant you understanding through the word of God.
When you do this, the light of God will fill your heart.
This is because we receive revelation and instructions when we read God’s word.
Learning to treat people well is very important. Do you like to be shoved away, kicked, punched, pinched, teased, mocked, bullied, and lied at? These are just some terrible things that can happen to you.
Other children or even adults can do these wicked things to you just because they can or they think you deserve it. How would you feel? Really ask yourself this question.
On the other hand, you could be the one doing these same unfair acts to other children. Maybe in collaboration with other children, you could be bullying a classmate who has bushy eyebrows. You could mock them with a name like “the bush”, “bushbrows”, “bushy” or any other name you think is cool. Do you think they would like that? Really ask yourself this.
You definitely won’t like to be on the receiving part and shouldn’t do that to another person. They also won’t like it. If you won’t like it, they most likely won’t like it too.
Jesus condemned treating people wrongly and told those around him to not do so. He was teaching them to value others with respect, love, and care.
“And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.”
Luke 6:31
He was saying that you should treat others the way you want to be treated. If you want to be treated well, treat people well. That’s the right thing to do.
May you receive the strength to treat people well. Amen
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I obey your command and will treat everyone well. Strengthen me for this task. Amen.
Action point: You can start by apologizing to the people you have treated badly in the past. Then begin to treat other people well.
Do you know the importance of God’s Word? Now, what does a lamp do? It gives light to a dark area, right? Dark areas are beyond the physical dark places in your environment that require you to switch on the light or use a torch to see.
The unseen dark areas of your life include the times when you are unsure of what to do out of maybe confusion, fear, or pressure.
While in these dark places in your heart and mind, you need light and not a physical light but the light of God. Divine light instantly lights up everywhere, driving out shadows and making you see well. This divine light is God’s word, the bible.
The psalmist in chapter 119 and verse 105 acknowledges what God’s word does for him.
Psalm 119:105 – “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
“A lamp to my feet…”
This shows that with God’s word as your light, you won’t lose your footing.
You won’t fall into any form of sin, fear, confusion, or bow down to any form of pressure from anyone to make you commit a sin.
And even if you happen to want to fall, His word will still help you not to fall.
Look at the second part of the verse – “…and a light to my path”. His word won’t let you fall for they will lighten up your path. They will give you an understanding of any situation you are facing at school, home, or anywhere.
His word will teach you how to handle the situation. He will guide you on what to say, do, or how to act.
God’s word is very powerful. Able to guide, teach and save you from any challenges you might have. His word is also able to show you how you could have managed past problems. This way, when such situations rise up again, you already know how to handle them.
Remember this verse when you seem not to know what to do. Go into God’s word and let his light keep your feet firm and your path bright.
Thou shall not judge. Beatrice scolded Mary from afar with her eyes. How could she not know that taking money from the cashier’s table was stealing? And now everyone knew what had happened.
They were good friends at school and Beatrice couldn’t bear the shame and embarrassment her friend had brought on her. She vowed not to be friends with Mary again.
Weeks before, Beatrice’s mother had followed her to school to see the principal. Beatrice had four textbooks that didn’t belong to her. She had taken them from the bags of her classmates without them noticing.
The principal had scolded her and asked her to return the books and meted out some punishment to her.
All through this, Mary never disowned her or felt embarrassed or ashamed as Beatrice felt now. How come Beatrice suddenly thinks she is better than Mary and labels her a sinner?
Here is what the bible says about sinners.
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Romans 3:23
The verse tells us that we were once sinners and not fit to receive God’s love but for Jesus who died that we might experience the glory of God in our lives.
No one can say that he or she has never sinned. Only God can not sin. Once we were sinners and now God has redeemed us from the consequences of sin through Jesus.
With this verse, understand that we can only continue to ask for forgiveness for our sins and receive help to not sin consciously.
And we are not to also judge others as sinners. Do not be like Beatrice, be like God, and don’t judge.
May the Lord give you the grace to not judge anyone. Amen
Prayer: Lord, help me not to judge anyone, most especially my friends. Help me to love them.
Action point: Before you judge anyone, ask yourself if you have ever done anything like they did. Would you like to be judged?
My children will flourish. A well nurtured garden is always pleasant to look at or to relax in, but no one will desire to stay in an untidy garden.
A garden is not left all by itself to be well nurtured, it takes a conscious effort.
May our sons in their youth be like plants full grown, our daughters like corner pillars cut for the structure of a palace;
Psalms 144:12 (ESV)
Likewise for our children, we must work towards nurturing them by teaching them the word of God, praying for them and believe in God to become what he has created them to be.
We should always pray that our children will be strong and straight and pointed toward heaven.
Not dwarfed by bad habits or foolish choices, not choked out by the weeds of the world, but they will be of visible character who stand alone, strong enough to withstand the storms of life.
Also, that God will grant them visible strength, godly character, and the beauty of full development.
Prayer: My children will flourish in Jesus name. Amen
Action point: Pray for your children
Declaration: My children are blessed to flourish at an early age so that they bring forth the good fruit of godly character.
There is a way God expects us to give. Joyful giving is another wonderful way of giving. It comes from your heart. Especially when you see the amount of happiness you put on the faces of others.
2 Cor 9:7(ESV) Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
The bible tells us to give with joy at all times. Not with grumbling or anger. But with intense joy. That is the way God expects us to give.
God gives us with joy. He created the earth with joy in His heart. The bible tells us that while creating the earth, He kept seeing the things he was creating as good.
He kept creating out of the joy in his heart from seeing the wonderful things He was creating.
Be like God today. Give with joy. That is the way God expects us to give.
As you bless others with joy, God will equally bless you too with joy.
