Andrew Murray wrote, “Conscience can be compared to the window of a room, through which the light of heaven shines into it, and through which we can look out and see that heaven, with all that its light shines on.”1 In Romans 9:1 the Apostle Paul said, “I speak the truth in Christ–I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit.” In this article, Dr. Scott Turansky, co-founder of the National Center for Biblical Parenting, provides a way to help children listen to the voice of God.
Internal motivation can prompt a child to do good or to do wrong. For example, the heart contains emotions and sometimes those emotions motivate children to act inappropriately. The heart also contains desires but when those desires are to do wrong we call them temptations.
God has placed two governors in the heart to guide the internal motivations of a person. Those two governors are the conscience and the Holy Spirit. The conscience is a part of the heart. The Holy Spirit is a person. The conscience can prompt children to do right and avoid wrong, but the Holy Spirit can empower them to change.
As you help children develop a strong conscience you’re making them more aware of internal promptings. In doing so, you’ll be preparing them to learn to listen to the voice of God in their lives. We have no record in the Bible of the conscience speaking to a person. Instead, it feels good or bad, but the Holy Spirit does speak.
Children can learn to listen to the voice of God in their lives. How does God speak to a child? Through his Word, through an internal sense of peace, through prayer, and even through parents.
Talk to your kids about the internal prompters. When you do, help them to know what to do with those promptings. Just because you feel like doing something, doesn’t make it right. We must always check our hearts against the scriptures. That’s the only way to know what is truly the right thing to do.
Related Article: Teaching kids about the Holy Spirit
1 Andrew Murray, The Holy Spirit and Conscience
