The Parenting Moment
You are tucking your child into bed when they look up at you with wide, searching eyes and ask, “But Mum, how do you actually know God is real?” Or perhaps it comes at the dinner table, out of nowhere: “If God loves us, why did Grandma get sick?” Your heart stops for a moment. You are a Christian parent answering hard faith questions you were not prepared for — and your first instinct might be to reach for a quick, tidy answer just to move past the discomfort. That moment of fear is more common than you think, and it is far more holy than it feels.
Biblical Foundation
“These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 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 6:6-7
Notice what God does not say here. He does not instruct parents to have all the answers ready, to deliver a perfectly structured theology lesson, or to perform faith for their children. He says to carry these truths in your own heart first — and then let them spill into the ordinary, unscripted moments of life. The bedtime question, the car journey, the walk home from school — these are not interruptions to faith formation. According to Scripture, they are the very places where faith is meant to be transmitted. God designed faith to be caught as much as it is taught.
Deuteronomy 6 was written to a community of imperfect people who had their own doubts and struggles with God. Yet the Lord entrusted them with the spiritual formation of the next generation anyway. The same is true of you. You do not need to be a theologian to point your child towards Jesus. You need to be honest, present, and rooted in the Word — and God will do the rest. Authentic faith, wrestled with and lived out, is far more compelling to a child than rehearsed religious performance.
Practical Wisdom
- Normalise the question, not just the answer. Before you respond, tell your child, “That is such an important question — I am really glad you asked me.” This signals that doubt is not dangerous and that your home is a safe place to wonder out loud. Children who feel safe asking questions are far less likely to walk away from faith silently as teenagers.
- Share your own journey honestly. It is perfectly appropriate to say, “There have been times I have wondered that too.” Modelling a faith that has weathered questions is far more persuasive than projecting a faith that has never had any. You are not undermining your child’s trust in God — you are showing them what it looks like to trust Him through the uncertain seasons.
- Use age-appropriate anchors, not exhaustive arguments. For younger children, point to creation, to answered prayers you have witnessed together, to the love they feel in your family as a reflection of God’s love. For older children and teenagers, you can engage more directly with questions about suffering or evidence, and it is entirely fine to say, “I do not have a complete answer, but here is what I hold on to.”
- Keep the conversation open and ongoing. Resist the urge to deliver a closing statement that shuts the discussion down. Say, “Let’s keep thinking about this together,” or “Shall we look at what the Bible says about that this week?” Faith conversations are not one-off events — they are a lifelong dialogue, and Deuteronomy 6 reminds us they happen best in the rhythm of everyday life.
- Pray together in the moment. One of the most powerful things you can do when your child raises a hard question is pray about it with them right then and there. “Lord, we have questions and we bring them to You” teaches your child that Jesus is not threatened by their doubts — He welcomes them. It anchors the conversation in relationship with God rather than in your ability to defend Him.
Encouragement for Parents
If your child is asking whether God is real, take heart — they are engaging with faith, not walking away from it. The question itself is a sign that the seeds you have sown are taking root and growing into something real and personal. God is not surprised by your child’s doubts, and He is not disappointed in you for not having a perfect answer. He is the Good Shepherd, and He is actively pursuing your child’s heart even in the middle of the question.
You were not called to be a flawless apologist. You were called to walk faithfully before your children, to love Jesus openly, and to make your home a place where the name of God is spoken naturally — at the table, on the road, at bedtime. Trust the Holy Spirit to work in the spaces between your words. He is far more capable of reaching your child’s heart than any perfectly crafted answer ever could be.
Family Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You that You are not afraid of our questions. Give us wisdom as parents to respond to our children’s doubts with patience, honesty, and grace. Where we do not have answers, help us to model trust. Where our children are searching, draw close to them by Your Spirit and make Yourself known. May our homes be places where faith is lived, not just spoken — and may our children grow up knowing that Jesus is real, present, and worth following all their lives. In His name, amen.
Has your child ever asked you a question about God that caught you off guard? We would love to hear how you handled it — share your story in the comments below, or pass this post on to a parent who needs encouragement today.