Becoming a Praying Parent

I remember what our pastor always reminds his church, and that is to develop a consistent prayer life.  That’s my heart’s desire, too - to be more consistent in my prayer life.  And in praying, we do not only pray for ourselves but for others as well.  And one of the most important aspects of our prayer life is praying for our loved ones, especially the ones whom we deal with, take care of and minister to everyday – our children.

Here’s an excerpt from one of my favorite books by Stormie Omartian entitled “The Power of a Praying Parent” that I want to share to you this week. 

It gives me so much hope and encouragement to know that our children’s lives don’t ever have to be left to chance and be tossed and turned by the winds of change.  Instead, we can always turn to the expert parent of all time – our Father God – for help.  This doesn’t mean, though, that we would be abdicating all the responsibility of parenthood to God, but rather we can declare ourselves to be in full partnership with Him.  An important part of our job as parents is to keep the details of our child’s life covered in prayer.

Let me just share to you some important points that I learned from the first chapter of this book:

·    God didn’t promise that nothing bad would ever happen to our child, but praying releases the power of God to work in his/her life, and we can enjoy more peace in the process.

·    All that needs to happen in our lives and the lives of our children cannot happen without the presence and power of God.  Prayer invites and ignites both.

·    To effectively pray for our children, we ask God to show us how to pray for our children over the next twelve months and begin making an extensive personalized list of prayer items for each child.

·     The battle for our children’s lives is waged on our knees.  When we do pray, we’re in the battle alongside them, appropriating God’s power on their behalf.  If we declare the Word of God in our prayers, then we wield a powerful weapon against which no enemy can prevail.  Whenever you pray for your child, do it as if you are interceding for his or her life – because that is exactly what you are doing.

·    If your child has made poor choices, don’t berate yourself and stop praying.  Keep the communication lines open with your child, continue interceding for him or her, and declare God’s Word.  Instead of giving up, resolve to be even more committed to prayer.

And lastly, it’s not being a perfect parent that makes the difference in a child’s life, because there are no perfect parents.  It’s being a praying parent that makes the difference.  And that’s something we all can strive to be.

Words to Live By

"You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you."

John 15:16

"Pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord.  Lift up your hands to Him for the lives of your children."

Lamentations 2:19

"Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord."

Ephesians 6:4

"Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.  And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.  With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people."

Ephesians 6:17-18