Praying for Our Children

Recently I had lunch with a dear friend whom I had not seen in years (we couldn’t even come up with an exact number). In the course of a 2 hour lunch, we tried to catch up with what had happened in our lives during the last few years. Needless to say, that was just not long enough. 

At any rate, being both mothers of relatively young kids, our conversation inevitably touched on the subject of our fears for the future. We skimmed the surfaced of the countless issues that are going to surround our children’s growing up and became very somber as we contemplated the road ahead. The ills of our society make it almost impossible to dream about a bright future for our kids.

Through our conversation, I couldn’t help but think about Proverbs 22:6 

Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.

Fulfilling this command is becoming harder and harder in the society we live in. We are mostly on our own when it comes to this task. Not much that surrounds us helps us to train our children in the way they should go. Entertainment, forget it! Schools, let’s not even talk about that! Even some churches are slowly descending into the path of least resistance, becoming agents for the normalization of sin. I don’t know about you, but I am truly concerned.

What is a parent that wants to offer a Christian environment to their children to do, then?

I believe, the answer is found on your knees.

PRAYER!

First, pray for everything and without ceasing. (1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18, Ephesians 6: 18 & 2 Chronicles 7: 14)

Pray with others. Find yourself a few other parents to pray with. There is power in numbers! (Matthew 18: 20)

Pray for yourself, that the Holy Spirit may guide you as you parent your children. (Psalm 25: 4-5)

Pray that the Lord will make you an intentional parent, seeking wisdom always. (James 1: 5) 

Pray that you may be intentional about surrounding your children with all things good. (Philippians 4:8)

Pray that God may surround your children with adults who are godly and will guide them in their path to Christ.

Pray that God may surround your children with young people to be their godly friends and role models.

Pray and Praise Him for everything, especially for the gift of having children. (Psalm 95: 2)

Pray, pray, pray. I could fill up electronic pages with prayer, but the important thing is that we fill up our hearts with them. Let’s talk about God in our homes. Let’s take advantage of every opportunity for a godly teachable moment. May the Holy Spirit keep us alert and aware. Above all, however, may we understand that our children are loved by God and He has a plan for them. 

Sometimes we may fear God’s plan because we don’t understand it. We don’t get to see the entire picture, fully developed in front of our eyes…so we become nervous about the direction of things. Let us not be afraid of God’s plan. It is a perfect plan, even if it includes some detours and some rerouting that we were not expecting or desiring. It is still a good plan. It is still the best…better than anything we could have concocted ourselves…

Our society may seem less than ideal. The future may seem grim. We may have our hearts filled with fear for our children. But God is in control. And as long as we stand on His side, we will be OK.

My friend and I parted ways with promises of not letting the years slip by before we met again. May the days not slip by without finding the much needed time to pray.

Linking with:  Monday Musings