The Primary Spiritual Influencer: A Parent's Guide to Raising Faith-Filled Children

Picture this: A crowd of about two thousand people cresting a hill, and as they reach the top, an audible gasp fills the air. Mothers embrace each other with tears streaming down their faces. A father kneels beside his confused son, pointing to the fertile land stretching before them—the Promised Land their ancestors had longed to see but never entered because of their disobedience.

Before this generation stepped into their inheritance, Moses stood before them with a crucial message: "Listen, Israel, the Lord your God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." But he didn't stop there. He added something that would echo through generations: "These words that I'm giving you today are to be in your heart. Repeat them to your children."

That same command Moses gave thousands of years ago remains our responsibility today—to raise up the next generation in faith. Whether you're a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, or simply someone who knows children, you share in this collective calling. But for parents especially, the message is clear: You are the primary spiritual influencer of your children.

First, Know and Live What God Has Said
The progression in Deuteronomy 6 is intentional. Before we can teach our children, God's words must first be in our own hearts. You cannot teach something you don't know. This isn't just about intellectual knowledge—it's about knowing God intimately and living in a way that reflects that relationship.

This requires a spiritual gut check. Where are you with God right now? Is your relationship with Him evident in your daily life? Your children are watching, learning not just from what you say but from how you live.

As parents, we face enormous pressure to define success for our children. The world whispers that success means happiness, the best college, a lucrative career, the perfect spouse, grandchildren nearby. And while we naturally want good things for our children, Scripture points us to a different definition of success.

Jesus himself identified the greatest commandment as loving God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength—the very words Moses spoke on that hillside. This shifts everything. The ultimate goal isn't Harvard or a six-figure salary. It's that our children love the Lord their God with their entire being.

This dramatically changes how we parent. College becomes optional. Career paths open up. We're no longer chasing the world's metrics but pursuing something far more valuable—a generation that genuinely loves Jesus. As one father put it, "I would rather my son get any entry-level job and love Jesus than go to Princeton and become a billion-dollar investment banker."

For parents of adult children who have walked away from faith, hear this: their choices are not necessarily a reflection of your parenting. Once children reach adulthood, they make their own decisions. Continue praying, continue pointing them to Jesus, but release the burden of guilt that doesn't belong to you.

Teach Your Children What God Has Said
The Hebrew word used in Deuteronomy 6:7 carries rich meaning. Different translations render it as "repeat," "impress," or "teach"—and honestly, all three capture the essence. We're called to repeat God's commands so frequently that they become impressed upon our children's hearts, literally reshaping how they think and behave.

But how do we do this practically?
Start with a family habit: read a Bible story during one meal each day. With young children, this is easier when their mouths are full and they're actually listening! Choose age-appropriate resources—a beginner's Bible for early childhood, graphic novel-style Bibles for elementary ages, and study Bibles for teens.

Here's the key: don't feel pressure to be creative. Read the same story every single day for a week. Repetition is the foundation of learning. By the end of the week, ask your child to retell the story to you. You'll be amazed at what they've absorbed.
After reading any Bible story, guide discussion with three simple questions:

1. What does this teach us about God? (point upward)
2. What does this teach us about people? (point downward)
3. What do we want to do about it? (point outward)

These questions work for any passage and create meaningful conversations that move beyond simply knowing Bible stories to actually living them out.

Consider also using resources like the New City Catechism, which teaches theological truths through questions and answers set to music. Imagine your five-year-old being asked, "How many persons are there in God?" and responding, "There are three persons in one God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit"—not because they memorized dry facts, but because they sang it joyfully.

Your priorities reveal themselves in how you spend your time. If you say you don't have time for daily Bible reading with your children, you need to check your priorities. This isn't about adding one more thing to an already packed schedule. It's about taking something out and putting what's most important in its place.

Talk About God Everywhere
Moses instructed parents to discuss God's commands "when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." In other words: all the time, everywhere.

This means seizing teachable moments throughout the day. While watching a children's show that advises kids to "follow your heart," pause and ask, "What does Scripture say about our hearts?" Then explain that the Bible calls the heart "the most deceitful thing of all" and that we don't need to follow our hearts—we need new hearts transformed by the Holy Spirit.

Make prayer accessible and fun. Try "prayer ball" with active children who struggle to sit still. Toss a ball back and forth while following the CHAT acronym: Confess, Honor God, Ask for others, Thanks. You go first, modeling vulnerability and authentic faith. Your children will catch on quickly, and soon they'll be asking to play prayer ball.
The beautiful truth is that talking about God doesn't require a seminary degree. It just requires attention to the moments you're already living—watching TV together, driving in the car, dealing with sibling conflicts, facing disappointments. Every moment is an opportunity to point your children toward God.

The Challenge Before Us
How much do you talk about God in your home? It's easy to discuss faith at church, but does it permeate your everyday conversations? Start in this safe place, and watch as it naturally overflows into every area of life.

Raising faith-filled children isn't about perfection. It's about consistency, authenticity, and absolute dependence on God's grace. It's about knowing Him yourself so deeply that teaching your children becomes a natural overflow of your own relationship with Jesus.
The next generation is counting on us—not to be perfect, but to be faithful in pointing them toward the God who loves them more than we ever could.