Leading The Way - Devotional for February 8
February 8, 2026
Teaching the Next Generation
By Michael A. Youssef, Ph.D.
We must teach our children the art of spiritual warfare because the devil is fighting for their souls. We must allow them to watch how we do spiritual warfare. Don’t just give them a good education and a whole lot of money and pat them on the back. Equip them with the authority of the Word of God. Prepare them for the battle.
Don’t just settle for them to succeed in business and in the world; teach them how to battle the enemy of God. Cry out to God on their behalf. Be a role model so they can watch you and know how to stand in the battle.
Read Joshua 23. When Joshua grew old and knew his time on earth was coming to a close, he gathered the leaders together—the next generation—to exhort them to trust in the Lord. He essentially said, “If you obey the Lord your God, He’s going to fight your battles for you.” Each subsequent generation must learn from the previous generation without becoming dependent on the past; each generation must experience the Lord themselves.
If we do not teach the next generation the art of spiritual warfare, they will develop spiritual amnesia—they will forget the wondrous acts the Lord has worked on our behalf. And when spiritual amnesia sets in, compromise will most surely follow.
Mature believers must pass a living testimony of the grace of God to the next generation. From cover to cover in Scripture, we’re told that it is the parents’ primary responsibility to train their children in spiritual warfare. When Joshua’s generation failed to train their children in the battle, the next generation lost the battle.
But the good news is if we cry out to God, He will extend grace yet again—not just to us but also to the next generation.
Prayer: Father, help me to be faithful to pass on to the next generation the things You have taught me. Help me to do my part in equipping them for the battle and modeling the art of spiritual warfare. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
“Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them” (Deuteronomy 4:9).
Learn more in Dr. Michael A. Youssef’s sermon You Want Me to Do What?, Part 12: LISTEN NOW
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Watch Dr. Michael Youssef on this week's broadcast of Leading The Way at LightSource.com.
