30 Days of Prayer: May They Know Truth

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Parenting
30 Days of Prayer: May They Know Truth

Day 14:  May They Know Truth 

Lord, may these children walk in truth and be led by the Holy Spirit, who will guide them into all truth. May truth invade every area of their lives and may they recognize the counterfeit plans of the enemy.  May they wisely use truth as a means of discovering who they are and what direction they should go.  May they boldly speak truth, however may their words be seasoned with love.  As they speak truth in love, may they become great leaders of those around them, leading in what is true, good, and right, while at the same time maintain a humble heart, loving others and wholeheartedly following You.   John 16:13; 3 John 4, Ephesians 4:15  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

In our world today, truth is a hard thing to maintain.  Our society tends to stress that each person can define their own brand of truth.  This is a sad and unstable approach, and it is not truth at all.  Let’s invite our children to explore truth found in the Bible.  Let’s pray that they will be hungry for truth and will be able to easily discern truth through the power of the Holy Spirit.

And yet, truth should be lived out with love and humility.  If truth has made our hearts haughty and mean, we drive people away from the truth we want them to see.  And we can do that to our own children as well.  Ask the Lord how you can hold out truth to the children around you in a way that is inviting and appealing, while at the same time uncompromising.  This is tricky and can only be achieved by the power of the Holy Spirit.

I tend to be one who would love to shield my children from the harshness of this fallen world.  But we cannot shield them forever and if we do, we will not equip them properly to handle the world.  I wholeheartedly advocate monitoring what our children see and hear and plant in their minds.  However, when they are older I have let them learn to discern truth for themselves with my guidance.  For example, if they tell me a scenario that happened at school, rather than lecture, I may say, “What is wrong with that situation?”  Or when they are older, if there is a show on television which is not necessarily bad, but still has messages that I do not want them to accept at face value, I will allow them to watch it, but require that they look for 5 ways that the subject matter goes against what we know to be true, good, and right.  Please don’t take that as an endorsement to let your children watch too much or unhealthy programs, but even the cleanest, best of the lot still may send mixed messages, and we must teach our children to be strong in discernment.

Mostly importantly, you cannot guide your children to truth if you don’t understand truth yourself.  Pray for the Lord to open your eyes and understand truth.  Seek truth and wisdom and they will richly reward you.  Spend time each day in the Word of God and in prayer, and if you do, the Holy Spirit will guide you into all truth.

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

John 8:32

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30 Days of Prayer: Honoring Father and Mother

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Parenting
30 Days of Prayer: Honoring Father and Mother

Day 13:  Honoring Father and Mother

Lord, may these children obey their parents and teachers in the Lord, for this is right.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

                                                                                                                Colossians 3:20

I have often told my children that this is my favorite Bible verse!  Of course, I am kidding—sort of.  I do want them to obey. Obeying is a part of being a Christian.  We must obey God, we must obey the laws of the land, we must “render to Caesar what is Caesar’s”, and yes, we must obey our parents.  Honoring our father and mother, even when we are grown, is vital—so vital that it is included in the Ten Commandments and is the only commandment with a promise attached to it.

Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the LORD your God is giving you.                                                                                                                   Deuteronomy 5:16

In Genesis 5:1, Moses summoned all of Israel for these commandments.  We tend to use this one to teach children to obey, but we must not forget that honoring our parents is a lifelong commandment.

But us parents have a bit of responsibility, too.  We must not nag and control so much that we push them away into rebellion.  One of the best parenting tips I could give you is this: Rules without relationship lead to rebellion.

Ephesians 6:4 says:

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

I must confess that I have, at times, exasperated my children.  I have had to apologize on numerous occasions.  And thankfully, my kids are quick to forgive.  I think we tend to exasperate and nag and over-parent when we make an idol of their good behavior—when we make it about us, not about them.  But these verses clearly point to Lord, not the parent.  We should instruct them to please God above all—even above us.

Today, if you are blessed to have parents still living on this earth, find a way to honor them.  We are never too old to honor our parents in the Lord, for this is right.

 

30 Days of Prayer: Generous Hearts

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Parenting
30 Days of Prayer: Generous Hearts

Day 12: Generous Hearts

Lord, give each of these children a generous heart, for we know that You love a cheerful giver.  May their hearts be focused on all the abundant heavenly treasures that have eternal value, not in the passing earthly treasures of this world.                  2 Corinthians 9:7

                                                               In Jesus’ Name,  Amen

Our society today constantly sends the message that we need more, more, and more.  We need better, bigger, newest, latest.  I am very guilty of buying into the lie of more and better for me, me, and me.

And that is the same society that shouts these false messages to our children.  If I fall prey to this, and I know better, how much more easily will our children fall prey to this “More for Me” mentality?

The only way to counteract this constant message is to give.  We must model for our children a generous heart.  They should see us be generous with our treasures, our talents, and our time.  If we value heaven over earth, they will learn to do the same.  If we hold loosely to our earthly treasures, they too will hold loosely to theirs.  Let’s pray for generosity to be imbedded into our personalities and the personalities of our children.

In addition to praying for your children to have a generous heart, ask the Lord what you can do with your children to model that.  Is there a needy family you could help?  A neighbor for whom you could bake cookies?  Is there someone to whom you could offer food, clothes, or toys?  Let’s not wait until next Christmas to show our children what it means to be generous.

30 Days of Prayer: Teach Them To Pray

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Parenting
30 Days of Prayer: Teach Them To Pray

Day 11:  Teach Them To Pray

Lord, teach these children to pray.  May they learn that they should not worry about anything but instead pray about everything.  May they tell You their needs and not forget to thank You for Your answers.  And may they experience Your peace which passes all understanding.   Matthew 6: 5-13; Philippians 4:6-7

                                                                   In Jesus’ Name, Amen. 

I have a very beautiful memory that makes me smile every time I think of it.  When my 28-year-old daughter, Katie, started school she and I both were very nervous.  The first day I walked her to the classroom, helped her find her desk and put away her supplies, and then quickly walked toward the door to leave, knowing that neither she nor I would fare very well if I didn’t leave.  As I walked through the door, I looked back one last time and she was looking straight at me.  I mouthed, “It’s okay,” and she folded her little 5-year-old hands and mouthed, “Pray for me.”  I nodded yes and walked quickly away, trying to make it to the car before I cried.

Even today, I treasure that memory for two reasons.  First of all, at that young of an age, she knew to pray and secondly, she knew she could ask me to pray.  Those two nuggets of truth have not left her to this day.   I have made ALOT of mistakes in my years of parenting.  I think it is a gift when the Lord gives us a memory like that one.

I think the best way for our children to learn to pray, and to understand the importance of praying about everything, is to see and hear us pray about everything. The Bible says that Jesus taught His disciples to pray—so we should teach this to our children or grandchildren.  They learn best by watching us. Maybe this is intimidating to adults as well, but what better way to learn to pray aloud—we don’t have to be embarrassed in front of children!

Maybe today you are worried about something.  Pray about it.  Tell God your needs and don’t forget to thank Him for his answers.  He will answer.  And that truth will provide the peace that passes all understanding.  That is my prayer for you.  Peace.

30 Days of Prayer: Godly Wisdom

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Parenting
30 Days of Prayer: Godly Wisdom

Day 10: Godly Wisdom

Lord, help each of these children to liberally gain the wisdom that You promise to give them.  May they learn to ask and seek your guidance.       James 1:5

                                                                                                In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

What is wisdom?  Webster says that wisdom is “the ability to understand what is right, true, or enduring; good judgment; knowledge.”  Being wise means, “sound judgment marked by deep understanding”.

Take a moment to read and meditate on 1Corinthians 1:18-31.

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”  Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.  For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”

These verses show us that there is a difference between the wisdom of man and the wisdom of God.  God’s wisdom is unfailing.   We must pray that we and our children are given the gift of godly wisdom for His glory alone.   Godly wisdom will help you to see the children in your life as God sees them.  Godly wisdom will help you guide and parent your children in the way that God has chosen for you.

There is no cookie-cutter method of parenting.  We have learned that the hard way at times.  With so many children, we have to take the time to listen to God about what each one needs.  We don’t always know what to do, but God promises that if we ask for wisdom He will give it.  And He will give it to our children, too, making them wise beyond their years and wise beyond this world’s standards.