Training Up Children in the Lord
Scripture calls parents to instruct their children with love, discipline, and the teaching of God's truth. The book of Proverbs sums up this vocation: "Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it" (Proverbs 22:6). The training of children is a patient seed that bears lasting fruit, for what is written upon a child's heart accompanies that child throughout life. God entrusts to parents the responsibility of passing on His Word with constancy: "Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up" (Deuteronomy 6:7). Christian upbringing is therefore not limited to formal moments but saturates the whole of daily life. It combines teaching, example, and loving discipline: "Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord" (Ephesians 6:4). The goal is not merely good outward behavior, but the formation of hearts that know, love, and follow the Lord. These verses offer precious wisdom for raising children who are rooted in faith, resting on the grace of God who works through the faithful efforts of parents and through persevering prayer, for in the end it is the Lord who turns a child's heart toward Himself.
Key verse snapshot
“When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”
Bible Verses about Training Up Children in the Lord
6 Scripture passages on this theme
1 Corinthians 13:11
“When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”
2 Samuel 12:18
“And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead: for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead?”
2 Kings 4:34
“And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and he stretched himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child waxed warm.”
Proverbs 22:6
“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
1 Kings 3:26
“Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it.”
1 Kings 17:21
“And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, I pray thee, let this child’s soul come into him again.”
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Apply These Verses to Your Life
Scripture comes alive when we meditate on it and apply it daily. Read these verses in full context, pray for understanding, and ask God how they speak to your situation with training up children in the lord.
- Author:
- The Lord Will Editorial Team
- Reviewed by:
- Ugo Candido
- Last updated:
- Category:
- Scripture Guidance