Spiritual Training in Kids From 7-9 years of Age

What can kids understand in Spiritual Training when they are between 7-9 years of age?

My son and daughter in law have six children!  One day they came home from an outing and their 8 year old daughter told them: “I have something to show you.” She them took them both to their back door, where on the window she wrote: I have decided to repent to Jesus! She got the basic Gospel message, even at 8!

In the book Spiritual Growth of Children, published in 2000 by Focus on the Family under the Heritage Builders Brand, the authors state:

This is the Age of Reason.  Children are beginning to think for themselves.  They want to know “why and how” and explore options.  These children need to be taken seriously as intellectual beings. This is a great time to teach them the underlining reasons for how they can know the Bible is God's Word, how it's the manual for life from life’s manufacturer, how they can be sure Jesus is God, how you know God cares, and so on. They need to know that their faith is both reasonable, there are good reasons behind it, and real, it works in their lives.

The authors have laid out a chart to show what truths about God they can be ready to learn at 5 & 6.  Here is an excerpt from the book:

1-      The “knowing” columns contain truths about their faith, God, and what he does.

2-      The “loving” column is about developing their relationship with God 

3-      The “living” columns are about living out in their person and actions what God wants them to be.

In each of these three areas, topics and concepts are listed that they can grasp. As you become intentional, your children will learn all things listed here. Remember they're like sponges and they're ready to learn.

A couple of key activities you can use to teach these principles include:

1 – As parents, we should be praying for their salvation.  Gotquestions.org puts it best:  Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us that salvation is by grace through the gift of faith, so our prayers for our children’s salvation should be centered upon seeking that gift of faith for them. We should pray for the Holy Spirit to draw our children to God from their earliest days and to sustain them through a life of faith and service to God until they are safely secure in heaven for all eternity (Ephesians 1:13-14). We should pray that God will draw us to Himself and become a reality in our lives so that we can be good role models for our children.

2- In your time of devotions look for the topics identified in the above table and ask questions to see if they understand to help drive application and personal understanding!!  Talk about them when you drive in the car, sit at the table…

3 – Do Family Nights based on “Family Night Tool Chest: Basic Christian Beliefs” (Available at: https://www.heritagebuildersglobal.com/family-resources)

And always remember:  Deut 6:4-7 says:  4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.