What To Do When Your Kids Fall Asleep During Devotions

Dark, light, more dark. Gravity is exercising its mighty pull upon my weak eyelids. I’m falling, swimming. Now I’m dreaming. Sleep curls its soft fingers around me, warming me, calling me…“Stephen!” My eyes snap open and struggle to focus on something, anything. What is that blurry thing across from me? Did someone tape my eyelids closed during the night? Why do they feel so heavy? My body and I have a slight disagreement over whether or not I should actually move. My body wins the argument, and I continue to lay motionless.

“Stephen, I want you to sit up when I read the Bible to you. This is really important.” The blurry object takes shape, becoming a familiar figure. I raise my head slightly. “Dad, I can listen just as well lying down as I can sitting up.” “No you can’t, you’re falling asleep.” “I’m not falling asleep Dad, I’m wide awake. See, look.” I squeeze my eyes shut and then open them as wide as possible, trying to prove that I am indeed awake. With my eyes bulging from my head, I look like some sort of zombie. “Okay, you can lie down, but I want you to look at me. If I see your eyes closing then I’m going to make you sit up.”

I relax again, allowing my body to melt back into the couch. Both of my younger brothers are sprawled out on the floor beneath me, like dead men littering a battlefield, and my sister, who is always semi-comatose in the morning, is draped across a chair. I’m fully alert for approximately seven seconds before sleep makes another full-scale assault, this time threatening bodily harm if I don’t give in to its demands. Dad begins to go out of focus as I lose control of my eyes, and a yawn begins banging around in my mouth in a desperate effort to escape. This is bad. A yawn will attract Dad’s attention and he’ll see that I’m falling asleep. For a few moments I’m able to keep my mouth closed and continue my descent into the land of darkness, but soon I can contain myself no longer. The yawn slithers out of my mouth, instantly alerting my dad to the fact that I’m on the verge of falling asleep.

“Stephen, you’re falling asleep. I want you to sit up now.” “Dad, I’m not falling asleep,” I say, wiping drool from the corner of my mouth. “And sitting up is so uncomfortable.” “Stephen, this is God’s word. This is the most important book in the world. It’s my job as your dad to teach you about the Lord, and I’m not going to argue about this anymore. Now sit up.”

With considerable effort I manage to raise my body into the upright position. From the look on my face, you would think that I was being forced to walk across hot coals or put venomous snakes down my shirt. Clearly I’m upset at what I perceive to be a great injustice. Nevertheless, I sit up and my dad continues to read Scripture to us as if nothing happened. Dad is very familiar with these minor disturbances. This scene has been acted out many times before and will happen again many times.

But Dad doesn’t let our resistance stop him from teaching us God’s word. He doesn’t let our sinful lack of interest in the Bible discourage him from fulfilling his role as a father. Rather, he faithfully instructs us in the ways of the Lord day after day, teaching us to live in a way that pleases and honors God. My dad’s efforts were not in vain. The Lord used his faithful instruction to stir up godly desires in my heart – desires for salvation, holiness, heavenly rewards, and most importantly, God Himself. Through my dad’s faithful proclamation of the gospel, regular family devotions, creative presentation of scripture, diligent discipline, and generosity with books, he led me into a deep and fruitful relationship with the Lord.
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From My Friend, My Hero, My Dad: The Extraordinary Influence of an Ordinary Man

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