Influencing a child to pursue Godly choices is a daily challenge in the midst of sin, temptation, social media, and the pursuit of material wealth. Mothers can have a positive influence on the hearts and minds of their children with the help of the Lord. The Christian home is the place to start preparing children for their heavenly home.
A mother’s God-given role of caring for children is a tremendous blessing. Children are a gift from the Lord.
Behold, children are a gift of the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. (Psalm 127:3 NASB)
My Mother Has a Great Influence on my Life
I was raised by a single mother who taught my two sisters and I to be faithful to God. Every Sunday and Wednesday, regardless of the weather (rain, sleet, snow, heat, or fog) my mother, two sisters and I would travel on three buses from the South Side of Chicago to the West Side to participate in Bible class and the church assembly. I hated those long bus rides as a child, but as a woman I thank God and my mother for a firm foundation in Christ.
5 Ways a Godly Mother Can Influence Her Children in the Lord
- Demonstrate faith in word and deed. Children are very observant and pay close attention to what a person does.
- Commit children to the Lord. Hannah was barren. She desperately prayed to God for a son. When God answered her prayer she committed Samuel to the Lord. When Samuel was weaned (about 5 years old in Biblical times) Hannah took him to Shiloh and left him with Eli the priest to be dedicated in service to the Lord. She made him a little robe and brought it to him each year she visited him at the appointed annual Jewish feasts. (1 Samuel 1:1 – 25, 2:18 – 19)
“For this boy I prayed, and the Lord has given me my petition which I asked of Him. So I have also dedicated him to the Lord; as long as he lives he is dedicated to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there.
(1 Samuel 1:27 – 28 NASB)
My mother often tells me how she stood in our room at night and prayed as she committed my two sisters and I to the Lord when we were little. I remember when I told her I had committed my life to Christ and was planning to move to Guatemala to join a mission team teaching the Good News of Jesus, she said she would miss me but she had committed me to God and knew He would take care of me.
- Build a hedge of protection from Satan with prayer
Add your child’s name to this Scripture when praying for him/her.
The Lord will deliver me from every evil work, and will save me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. (2 Timothy 4:18 NASB)
- Trust God to care for your children
Jochebed, the mother of Moses, had great faith. She trusted God to care for her 3-month old son after she could no longer hide him in the house when Pharaoh commanded all male Jewish baby boys to be killed. She put him in an ark of bulrushes in the Nile River trusting God. She influenced Moses to have faith in the true and living God in the morally corrupt world in which they lived (Egypt 1500 B.C. was known as the land of many gods). (Exodus 1:1 – 2:10)
Her three children sought to obey God
- Aaron was God’s mouthpiece for Moses
- Miriam was with her brothers in the Exodus and led the Hebrew women in singing and praising God after He delivered them from slavery in Egypt
- Moses delivered God’s chosen people from bondage/led the Exodus
- Daily Godly Instruction
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons 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 up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:5 – 9 NASB)
Parenting Must be Intentional
Jesus’ early earthly years are an example of how children should be trained and experience growth. Jesus grew in wisdom, stature, and favor with God and man. (Luke 2:52)
Mothers can influence their children to grow in the following ways:
Mental Development
- Godly wisdom
- Education
- Logical thinking
Physical Development
- Stewardship of their body
- Proper sleep
- Nutritious diet
- Fitness
Spiritual Development
- Genuine faith in God
- Identity in Christ
- Submission/obedience
- Bible reading
- Acceptance of sound doctrine
- Prayer
- Godly servants
- Fruit of the Spirit
- Understanding spiritual warfare
- Salvation
Social Development
- How to communicate effectively
- Manners
- Love for others
- Compassion for others
- Respect for others
3 Women in Scripture Who Influenced Their Child in the Ways of God
Mary, the mother of Jesus
As a young virgin girl, Mary accepted God’s call on her life to bear a Son by the Holy Spirit. Because of her character, she found favor with God. When the angel Gabriel announced to her that she had been chosen by God to give birth to the promised Messiah, Mary responded with faith and a willingness to be a servant of God.
God protected Mary’s reputation with Joseph, the man she was betrothed to marry, by sending an angel to tell Joseph not to be afraid and to take Mary as his wife “for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.” Joseph did as the Lord commanded him. Mary and Joseph were married, but they had no sexual relations until after Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem. (Matthew 1:18 – 25)
God entrusted Mary and Joseph with the responsibility of guiding Jesus as a Child. God used Mary in His plan to redeem mankind from sin through His Son Jesus Christ.
Eunice, Timothy’s mother and Lois, Timothy’s grandmother
Lois and Eunice had genuine faith and they passed it on to Timothy. Even though Timothy’s father was a Greek gentile, his Godly christian mother taught him the Holy Scriptures from childhood (2 Timothy 3:15).
For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well. (2 Timothy 1:5 NASB)
They had such a Godly impact on his life at a young age that the apostle Paul chose him to accompany him on his missionary journey and evangelize the world. Timothy became Paul’s disciple, companion, and co-laborer in the word of the Lord.
Timothy was respected by the brethren of the church (Acts 16:1 – 30) and his name is mentioned in the greeting of the epistles of 2 Corinthians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, and Philemon.
Encouragement for Today
If you are a mother who has not had a Godly influence in the lives of your children, there is hope. It is possible. It starts with your covenant relationship with God.
Whether your mother was Godly, mistreated you, you never knew your mother, or she has passed from this life, you are not alone.
God loves you and He wants you to spend eternity in heaven with Him.
There are countless numbers of Godly women in the Kingdom of God eager to be a Titus 2 woman (older women teach the younger) in your life.
Honor your mother and father (which is the first commandment with a promise), so that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth. (Ephesians 6:2 – 3 NASB)
God bless you
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