Psalms for Families
Psalm 103:7-8 (detail) | By Timothy R. Botts, commissioned by Calvin Institute of Christian Worship for the Calvin Symposium on Worship 2012
“Psalms for Families,” by Robert J. Keeley and Laura Keeley, is a free, online devotional book for the entire family designed to help parents explore the riches of the book of Psalms with their children and teens.
“These devotionals will help parents learn more about the psalms as they teach their children about praise, prayer, and lament,” says a press release from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship.
This book contains four devotionals on each of selected psalms as well as notes for adults that provide additional information and background.
Here are some questions answered by the Keeleys.
Why Read Psalms to Kids?
The psalms have served as the prayer book of God’s people for thousands of years. This book of poems and songs contains many beloved passages of Scripture, such as “The Lord is my shepherd” (Psalm 23) or “Create in me a clean heart, O God” (Psalm 51) or “This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118). People turn to these words in their thoughts and in their prayers.
Are there other reasons?
Perhaps we also love the psalms because of the emotions they express. Those emotions run the gamut from joy to sorrow, from praise to lament, and from pleading to thanksgiving. Psalms show us how we can respond to God, and they remind us that God knows us just as we are and hears us, even when our words are harsh.
How can children teens benefit from knowing the psalms?
When children are only exposed to the “feel-good” aspects of Christianity they may think that people of faith should not feel sad or angry. They may think that praise is the only attitude to have when addressing God and that they’re being “bad Christians” if they are hurting or have questions. The psalms reassure us that all these emotions are part of the human experience.
Anything else?
It is important for children to know that they don’t always have to be happy to come to God. It is important that they learn how to tell God they’re sorry. It is important for them to learn how to ask God to help them. The psalms demonstrate all these things.
Should parents approach this as they would sharing Christian literature with their children?
No. They contain raw emotion and grown-up ideas that are sometimes difficult for children to grasp. Consequently there are some significant challenges to making psalms accessible to kids. Learning about the psalms together through family devotions is a great way to help children and teens understand them because it allows caring adults to explain and extend difficult concepts. There is no substitute for the good things that can happen when people of different ages study God’s Word together.
What, then, is the overall focus of this study of the Psalms?
We intend this to be a family study, and we imagine adults, teens, and children gathered together, perhaps around a dinner table or before bed. These devotionals are kid-friendly and short enough to read at one sitting so that younger listeners stay engaged. They’re designed so that you will spend five or six days with one psalm. Working with the same psalm for a number of days is a variation of the ancient practice of lectio divina: read, meditate, pray, and contemplate. As you are working with a psalm, consider memorizing all or part of it together.
