Dear Reader,

Welcome to the concluding part of this teaching. I believe you now understand you have a God-given responsibility to play in the life of your children. Therefore, this week, we shall conclude the teaching, The Duty of a Mother.

To effectively play your role as a mother and raise a godly seed(s), you must know how to train your children. What is training? Training is an action of teaching a person a particular skill or type of behaviour. Also, training is simply a process of moulding, and it is not a point you arrive at. It also means preparing something for a contest. Therefore, when training your child, you are preparing them for the contest of life.

Training can also be defined as pointing somebody or something in an exact direction. However, as a mother, you must know the direction before you point it out to your children.

Training also means instructing and drilling; it means developing a taste for something (In Hebrew language). So when you are training or raising your children in a godly way, you are compelling them to develop a taste for godliness. No doubt, what you don’t have, you cannot give. 

Peter said to the lame man in Acts 3:6, ‘…but such as I have I give thee…’ It takes a godly mother to raise godly children.

To Train your Children, Note the Following:

God Owns Your Children. Please understand that your children belong to God. He has simply put them in your charge and made you their caretaker. The Word says: Lo children are an heritage of the Lord and fruit of the womb is his reward (Psalm 127:3). I believe a day of reckoning will come when each of us as parents will stand before God to render account for the lives of our children.  The only way to preserve the coming generation is to train our children today. The Word says: If the foundation be destroyed, what can the righteous do (Psalm 11:3). This means if you lay a solid foundation for your children in the Word of God today, there will be no vacuum tomorrow. Shape and mould your children according to God’s standards at this early stage of their lives when you can.

It is a Commandment. Child training is not an advice, a suggestion or a thing you do at your convenience.  It is a commandment from God.  The Word of God in Proverbs 22:6 did not say, train up a child when it is convenient for you rather it instructs train up a child in the way he should go… Also, the Word says: And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up (Deuteronomy 6:6-7). God’s commandments are not grievous, and Bishop David Oyedepo often say, “His commandments are not to grieve you but to groom you.” When you refuse to train your children, it is absolute disobedience to God’s commandment, which can lead to shame, as in the case of Eli. Although he was a priest in Israel, he failed in the area of child raising. His two children (Hophni and Phineas) became very notorious. They eventually died, and Eli himself broke his neck and died. Not only that, the ark of the covenant was taken from Israel (I Samuel 4:17-18). Such will not be your lot in Jesus’ name!

It Requires Diligence. The Word says: And these words, which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children… (Deuteronomy 6:6-7) In the quoted scripture, God specifically instructed Israel to mind the words of His command and pass them down to their children with all diligence. Child training is no small responsibility. It must be done carefully and purposefully. So, it must not be taken as a secondary assignment, irrespective of where you work or what your career is or the position you occupy. As a parent, child training is your primary assignment and must be done diligently for it to be effectual. Teach your children the Word of God all the time, whether it is convenient or not.  Bring spiritual materials that will help them to understand scriptures the more. Put to practice what you are teaching them from the Word. For example, when you teach them on prayer, ensure you see them pray by themselves, whether you are around or not, and ensure you live what you preach.  Children learn better and faster by example.

It is a Seed. Training your child in the way of the Lordis a seed with promises, and understanding this dimension of child raising enables you go about it as a labour with profit. The Word says: While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter and day and night shall not cease (Genesis 8:22).  The Word of God is sure! Whatever seed of training you sow into your children today, you will reap the harvest tomorrow.  When you sow the seed of good Christian upbringing into the lives of your children, they will bring you joy tomorrow. In order not to experience heartache over them tomorrow, it is imperative to sow seeds of proper upbringing in their lives today.  As a little girl, certain things were sown as seeds into my life, and I will forever be grateful to my parents. I did not enjoy it then, but now, I have good fruits to show for their labour of love.  I implore you to do the same for your children.

Therefore, being a mother is an awesome responsibility. God commands you to train up your children, and He supplies you with the grace required for the assignment. Raising children is indeed a serious business, but just as in every labour, there is profit. The business of child training will bring unthinkable profiting to your life. Sow the seed of good child training today and reap the fruit of peace, joy and fulfillment tomorrow. You won’t fail God and your children in Jesus’ name!

However, the first step to raising godly children as a parent is to accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour.  If you are not born-again, please say this prayer of faith: Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You today. I am a sinner, and I cannot help myself. Forgive me of my sins and cleanse me with Your Precious Blood. Deliver me from sin and satan to serve the Living God. From today, Lord Jesus, I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Thank You Jesus for saving me! Now, I am Born Again.

Congratulations! You are now born again and a child of God. He loves you and will never leave or forsake you. With this, you are guaranteed all-round rest and peace, in Jesus’ name! Please write or call to share your testimonies with me through oyedepofaitha@gmail.com OR 08141320204 and 07026385437.

For more insight, these books authored by me are available at the Dominion Bookstores in all Living Faith Churches and other leading Christian Bookstores: Building a Successful Family, Success in Marriage (Co-Authored with Bishop David Oyedepo), Raising Godly Children, Understanding Motherhood and The Wisdom that Works (Bishop David Oyedepo).