As a homeschool mom, I have a lot of time to sit and read as my girls do their school work. Right now I am reading a book by, Michael Catt Called The Power of Persistence: Breakthroughs In Your Prayer Life. Reading a book on prayer is easier to read, than to actually put into action. If you follow me on Facebook it’s not that long ago that I posted a picture of Michaels other book called, The Power Of Desperation  which is another really good book I could write about, if I had more time. Today I am going to focus on one chapter out of The Power of Persistence I read yesterday, called, praying for your children.

I Picked seven ways to pray for your children (out of many) in this chapter that I want to share.

But before I get started I want to remind you, as I needed to be reminded myself, That we are imperfect parents raising imperfect children. We as parents mess up and our children mess up. This is a reality of the fallen world we live in. Our children are Gods children first and foremost. He has given them to us; and we must be good stewards of what God has given.

We must know what to pray for, we must know whats going on in our kids’ lives. Once we get involved we will know specifically what it is they need prayer for.

“Nothing brings more happiness, fear, and anxiety, to our hearts than our kids. They can be our greatest joy and our most devastating heartbreak.” Page, 175

7 Ways to pray for your children:

• Pray your child will have a hatred for sin.  We live in a world that is promoting sin and bringing light to darkness and darkness into light. Pray that your child will want to do what is good in the eyes of The Lord, and not in the sight of the world. “We are so worried about being weird that we aren’t holy. Page 196”  We must pray that even though they are in the world they aren’t “of” the world. That they won’t be afraid to stand out and be different amongst the crowd and their peers.
• Pray your child will be kind and generous to others. I am not so sure kindness and generosity is valued in our homes anymore. Most of us are in it for ourselves, and what we can get and how fast we can get it. This passes on to our children. Pray that as a parent we can cultivate hearts of giving in our children that they may be givers of love and compassion towards all people. Pray they will be pure in heart and walk in the fullness of the spirit. Pray they will have courage to do the right thing.
• Pray your child will learn to listen to the right people. There are so many voices coming at them each and every day: friends, teachers, media, social media, mom’s and dad’s, the music they listen to, even the books they read etc. Pray your child will have a discerning heart, hearts to discern what is the truth in the light of Gods Word and what is not. I was listening to a sermon by one of my favorite pastors not too long ago he said “Everything that uses Christian terminology is not always Christian truth, we are to be discerning of who we place ourselves under.” We must teach our kids to discern what is truth and what isn’t, to be careful of who they are listening to.
• Pray your child will get caught whenever they sin. Have you ever heard that saying, out of sight out of mind or it’s probably better I don’t know. If we have this attitude as parents we are putting our children out in the open for the enemy to devour. God has given us our children to guide and protect. Micheal said, him and his wife would pray they wouldn’t be dumb parents. He stated that he was shocked to find out how many parents don’t know what is going on, on their child’s phones, tv, social media, or even in their friendships and relationships. And the one excuse he hears most, is, parents don’t want to invade their child’s privacy, his response, “NO, THAT’S PROTECTING THEM!” Our job is to protect our kids, when we don’t have a watchful eye on them we leave them out in an open field alone, as the enemy prowls to steal, kill, and destroy them.
• Pray they will be kept from the wrong mate and save themselves for the right one. Michael says it better than I could have here. “We live in a society that seeks to redefine marriage, but God’s Word has not changed on the subject. Marriage is a covenant.” As mom’s and dad’s we should be praying for our child’s future wives and husbands and also for their parents as they are in the same field of us trying to raise godly men and women against the torrent  voices of this world. Pray that they will have the strength to keep running the race that has been set before them, and to not to give up on doing good, knowing in the proper time they will reap what they have sown into the hearts of their children.
• Pray that your home will be a spiritual haven, a fortress, and a beacon of truth and abundant life. This is one of my favorites. Our home should be a safe haven for our children from the outside world. A home of encouragement and unconditional love. A home they can come home to, and feel a sense of security and rest. Always having an invitation for them to come home no matter what they have done or how old they are. As Michael says, “We need moms and dads to bring their homes before God.” We need to be praying God’s will over our children instead of our own.
• Pray that as parents you can be the role model your child needs. Yikes! Scary thought here. We are who our children are watching. The words we say rest on our children’s hearts and minds for a lifetime. The time we spend with them are ever-lasting memories, we only get 18 short years to cultivate a mindset and heart for The Lord for their entire life. It’s on us, not the church, not the Pastor, not the school teacher, or coach. The pressure is on us as parents. They’re watching our responses, our words, our actions. Before we come to God in prayer for our kids we must make sure our hearts are right with Him first. We are their role models whether we want to be or not, may we live worthy of our calling and be Christlike examples.

“From dawn until dusk your family is being bombarded with non-Christian values. You and your spouse are under attack as well. Your children need you to intercede on their behalf. It is impossible to raise a godly generation without prayer.” Pg 202

 

I have no greater joy than this: to hear my children are walking in the truth.

3 John 4

Lets pray for one another as we run this race together. Don’t give up in doing good, keep running the race until the finish line. You can do it!! We can do it together!!

Be a PRAYER WARRIOR on behalf of your HUSBAND and CHILDREN!!! STAND FIRM!

 

A Mother’s Prayer Carries On Long After She’s Gone.

Blessings,

Jessica