Do you struggle with getting your kids to pay attention in family devotions? Try leveraging their natural propensity for play.

When I first started trying to lead a family devotional with small kids, I made a crucial error.

I spent all my time working hard to get my kids to sit still, pay attention, keep hands to themselves, and not spill the hot cocoa I’d foolishly hoped would satisfy them. The results were unimpressive.

My assumption

If you’re a parent, maybe you’ve made the same mistake I made. My error was a basic assumption: I was unconsciously putting all my effort into managing their childish behavior.

Here’s the nuance: You and I are right to strive for everything I listed above and more. It is our job to help mature, train up, correct, and discipline our children. But we would all agree that this can be done too quickly or too harshly. There are times to correct and train our kids, but there are also times to leverage their behavioral ways.

Meet Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.

God made kids playful

God created kids with some uniquely remarkable attributes. He designed kids to be about wiggles, spontaneity, funny interpretations, and a never-ending desire for play, imagination, role-play, repetition, wonder, dress-up, humor, and fun. This is God’s design. It is no accident. He made them this way.

Kids’ behavior can be a challenge to be sure, but it is also beautiful. When we come to realize this truth and leverage it, a world of great relationship and teaching opportunities opens up with our children.

Uh oh, Lazarus has a tummy-ache.

What is happening here in these photos with my kids?

This is a part of our family devotional—a time to gather as a family, read and reflect on God’s Word, and pray and worship together. I told them we would be acting out the story before I read it. This helped them stay engaged as I read. Then we did an impromptu reenactment.

Lazarus has died, causing much weeping as his sisters prepare him for burial.

But Jesus arrives: “He will rise again.” “Lazarus, come out!”

Lazarus emerges from the tomb, alive! Jesus has turned tragedy into triumph.

Looks like fun, right? It is! My wife Amber and I love it, my kids love it, and we make fun memories together in the process. For families with small children like ours, this simple twist on the family devotional time can make all the difference.

Practical outline of a family devotional

In case you might find it helpful, here’s what we tend to do in our family time:

• Pray
• Sing a song or two
• Read the Bible story
• Invite all kids to interact with what they heard
• Act out the story, with me narrating as needed as we go along
• Take pictures during the reenactment and let the kids look at the photos
• Sing a song or two
• Hold hands and pray together for each other

I pray this encourages you. May it help you to lead your family toward Jesus with greater joy and power.

How can you incorporate your kids’ play into your own family devotional time?