Open Heavens 21 August 2025 Thursday – Technology Cannot Train Them
MEMORISE: Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6
READ: Proverbs 29:15 Open Heavens 21 August 2025
15 The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.
Open Heavens 21 August 2025
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Jeremiah 51-52
MESSAGE: – Open Heavens 21 August 2025 Thursday Daily Devotional
Thank God we can reach countless people around the world with the gospel through various technological devices and the internet. However, just as we are reaching many people with the gospel using technology, the devil is also using the same technology to reach people, including children. Many children now have access to pornographic sites through phones and tablets, and paedophiles manipulate children into immoral affairs through the internet. This is why, as good as technology is, parents cannot depend on it solely when it comes to raising their children.
When I was younger and there were no computers nor access to calculators, people had to do arithmetic by themselves. Nowadays, a lot of the younger generation cannot even calculate how much they are going to pay at a counter unless they use a calculator. If you are a parent, train your children not to overly rely on technology. Train them to do some things by themselves, and this will further enhance their natural abilities.
These days, some children find it very difficult to relate properly with people they meet physically because they have become addicted to relating with people online. Also, some young children do not greet other people because they are always wearing headphones and engaging with their electronic devices. You must not allow technology to make your children socially deficient or emotionally handicapped. You must ensure that you encourage them to develop their natural gifts and talents while also teaching them to interact properly with the world around them. It is really sad that some children are bullied online and are plunged into depression because of what someone online said to them.
Parents must be vigilant. They shouldn’t depend on technology to keep their children occupied when they don’t want to be bothered; they just might be handing them over to the devil. Don’t delegate your children’s training and upbringing to technology. If you don’t know what your children are doing on their electronic devices at every instance, then you are depending on technology to train them for you, and trust me, technology was not developed to be a godly parent. Today’s memory verse says that you should train a child in the way he or she should go. Do the apps your children engage with daily know the way they should go?
Parents, spend time with your children and train them yourself. I pray that God will protect all our children from the devil’s agenda to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10), in Jesus’ name.
Key Point – Open Heavens 21 August 2025
Parents should spend quality time with their children and be mindful of what they have access to through technology.
Open Heavens 21 August 2025 Thursday Commentary
Hallelujah.
Our topic for today once more says technology cannot train them. And our memory verse for today from the popular book of Proverbs 22:6 tells us, “Train up a child in the way he should go.” Emphasis on the way he should go. In other words, there’s a way that God desires that our children should be trained, a way which they should go. This also means that if there is a way they should go, then there is a way they should not go. And without doubt, if children are left to be by themselves, without guidance, they may go the way they should not go. If they are left in the hands of technology to train them, they may end up rooted in the wrong way, which is the way they should not go.
We are made to understand from today’s study that as much as technology has given to us the privilege to spread the gospel to nations around the world, the enemy also is not relenting. He is now using the same tool to ensnare the souls of men, especially children. There is no doubt that the internet, our phones, our tablets, and all our social media platforms are powerful tools and avenues. Yet, as we celebrate their usefulness, we must not be blind to their dangers. Also, technology is like a sharp knife in the kitchen. In the hands of a skilled cook, it prepares a nourishing meal. However, in the hands of a careless child, it can cause great harm.
So, parents must understand that while technology can bless, it can also destroy. As believers, we may use technology to stream our sermons, to host even prayer meetings. However, the enemy on the other side uses technology to stream filth. He uses technology to plant rebellion. He uses technology to lure children into bondage. He uses technology to transfer corruption from one end of the world to the other. It has the capacity to cross various kinds of borders until it gets right into our homes if permitted by our lack of attentiveness. Our father in the Lord reminds us that technology when abused can actually dull our natural instincts and our abilities. This is not to despise technological advancements. However, we must emphasize balance because if children depend solely on gadgets, if they depend on their phones and their tablets and internets alone, then their natural skills like critical thinking, their abilities to solve problems, and even their interpersonal communication skills will be weakened.
We also learned from today’s study that one of the things that technology does in today’s times is that it isolates. Have you noticed that sometimes in public spaces, you see children with their ears plugged with headphones. You see their eyes glued to screens; they are not even conscious of whatever is going on in their environments. They are in a world of their own. They learn to stay alone all by themselves. This destroys their ability to relate with their fellow human beings. Sometimes if you manage to engage them in communication for a minute, you’ll realize that they quickly uninterested and want to return to their solo lives. That is a very big problem right there. Because children like this may not even value their human relationships. In all honesty, they are likely to choose their gadgets, their phones, laptops, tablets, and the likes over their fellow human beings. Sadly, to them, these gadgets may be of more importance than the fellow sitting right next to them. This should not be so.
So, today’s study seeks to encourage parents to be intentional and deliberate about teaching their children to honor people. Teach your children to engage face to face with people and to live beyond the virtual world. We’re also made to understand from today’s study that so many things happen online. And as a parent, if you choose to let the internet become your babysitter, then you may be as well handing them over to the devil’s influence.
Beloved, this is a wakeup call. If you have been sleeping in the place of your assignment towards training your children, then please wake up. Do not let the enemy steal them. Dear parents, as a watchman over your home, what this means is that you must have control over what your children are doing online. I believe this is one of the reasons why so many parents ensure that some of their children do not have access to some of these smartphones until they attain a certain age or they are done with their preliminary schooling. Also set boundaries on the kind of content they consume. Do not let them just watch anything on the internet or watch all kinds of TV programs. In fact, there are also certain ways of putting certain kinds of restrictions on the kind of content that children should watch.
You can, for example, block off certain kind of adult content or certain websites on your home internet if you have one. You can also restrict certain kind of contents on your TV when you set up parental guidance. It is important also to spend quality time, intentional time with your children. Engage them in conversations. Spend time with them in study and prayer. Do not only provide money and think that you have done all that you should do for them. Be there also to train them up in the way that they should go. Hallelujah. Today’s study makes us understand that the most effective training for children is not outsourced. Is not when it is done by someone else or by some certain apps. The most effective training for children is the one that is done by yourself. It is always personal. When God gave those children, he gave them to you, not to YouTube or Tik Tok or some children cartoon TV stations. So, it is important that you lead and shepherd them as a steward of their destinies whom God has made you.
I would like us at this point to bow our heads and appreciate the Lord for the gift of children. Say, “Father, thank you for the children you have given to us. Thank you for the children that you have surrounded us with. If you are yet to be a parent, appreciate the Lord for this message coming to you in time. Appreciate him for the children he would give you.” Now ask the Lord today say father in the name of Jesus please shield our children from every satanic agenda online and offline in the name of Jesus. Ask the Lord today say father please keep our children protect them from the evil eyes of the enemy in the name of Jesus. Now ask the lord also say father please give us parents divine wisdom to train our children in godly discipline in the name of Jesus. Ask the Lord today for a deliverance of our children from every form of addiction to technology that can hinder their growth in the name of Jesus.
Ask the Lord today. Say, “Father, any form of association with technology that would not help their growth, Lord, let be separated from such today in the name of Jesus.” Ask the Holy Spirit of God today. Say, “Holy Spirit, please help our children to discover and develop their natural gifts for your glory in the name of Jesus. Also ask the Lord today say, “Father, let every family be a place of love. Let my family be a place of your love. Let it be a place of discipline. Let it be a place of righteousness in the name of Jesus. Ask that if there may be any seed which the enemy may have planted before now, Lord, let it be uprooted by your power in the name of Jesus. Begin to give the Lord thanks, worship, and adore his holy name. Father, we are grateful. We bless your name. Glory, honor, and adoration be unto your holy name. In Jesus’ name we have prayed. Amen.
Open Heavens 21 August 2025 Thursday Hymn
HYMN 33: Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah!
1 Guide me, O my great Redeemer,
pilgrim through this barren land;
I am weak, but you are mighty;
hold me with your powerful hand.
Bread of heaven, bread of heaven,
feed me now and evermore,
feed me now and evermore.
2 Open now the crystal fountain,
where the healing waters flow.
Let the fire and cloudy pillar
lead me all my journey through.
Strong Deliverer, strong Deliverer,
ever be my strength and shield,
ever be my strength and shield.
3 When I tread the verge of Jordan,
bid my anxious fears subside.
Death of death, and hell’s Destruction,
land me safe on Canaan’s side.
Songs of praises, songs of praises
I will ever sing to you,
I will ever sing to you.
Leave a Reply