Praying for Our Children / Charissa Andrews

 

Mrs Charissa Andrews

Pastor's Wife

Amazing Grace Baptist Church

O'Fallon, MO

 

"Praying for Our Children"

 

I love being challenged in my walk with the Lord. I love learning new things about my Savior and exercising faith. I love that the Christian life was not meant to be stagnant. Regardless of how long you have been walking with the King; a few months or several decades, there is always more to learn. His word is inexhaustible. Recently I was challenged in the area of prayer. Specifically in how I pray for my children. It has transformed my heart. 

 

What I did was sit down with a notebook and make a list for each of my sons. I listed 7-9 areas that they are currently struggling. Our list looked something like this: 

 

1. Apathetic 

2. Lack of confidence 

3. Anger 

4. Lack of discernment 

5. Self serving 

6. Frustration 

 

Then I took the struggles and looked for the biblical opposite. This is the way my list looked: 

 

1. Apathetic to Diligent 

2. Lack of Confidence to Courage 

3. Anger to Joy 

4. Lack of Discernment to Wisdom 

5. Self Serving to Servant's Heart 

6. Frustration to Hope 

 

I then took my concordance and searched for verses that created a picture of the biblical character I desired to see developed in my son's life. These are some of the verses I chose: 

 

1. Diligent: Ecclesiastes 9:10, I Corinthians 10:31 

2. Courage: Joshua 1:9, I Chron. 19:13, Ps. 31:24, Phil. 4:13, Deut. 31:8 

3. Joy: Ps. 5:11, 35:9, 95:2 

4. Wisdom: Ex. 35:31, II Chron. 1:10, Prov. 1:7, 4:5, 13:20, II Sam. 13:3, I Kings 4:29, Psalms 90:12 

5. Servant's Heart: Ephesians 6:7, John 3:30 

6. Hope: Psalms 38:15, 71:5, 78:7 

 

Then I took these verses and printed them out in the form of a prayer. It looked something like this: 

May ________ put his trust in You, and rejoice: let him ever shout for joy, because Thou defendest him: let him also love Thy name and be joyful in Thee. 

God please create _______ to be strong and of a good courage; help him to not be afraid or dismayed: for You are with him whithersoever he goes. May _______ obey himself valiantly for the people and cause of Christ: and do with him what is good in Your sight. As he grows in good courage, strengthen his heart and may he find his hope in You. 

May ________ honor You with his substance, and with the first fruits of all his increase. May he honour his father and mother as You have commanded him, so that his days can be prolonged, and so that it will go well with him. 

May _______ desire be to keep all the commandments that You have commanded him so that he can be strong and able to possess that which you have for him. 

May no corrupt communication proceed out of ________ mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that he may give grace unto those who hear him. Allow his words to comfort and edify those in his circle of influence. 

Father, please mold his heart to take diligent heed to do the commandments, which Moses, Your servant, charged him with. May _______ love You and walk in all of Your ways, and keep Your commandments and cleave unto you, and serve You with all of his heart and with all of his soul. 

Fill ______ with Your spirit, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship. May _______ get wisdom and understanding and forget it not, may he never decline from the words of Your mouth. 

Cause _____ to set his hope in You, and not forget Your works. Be his hope, O Lord GOD: may he learn to trust you from his youth. In Thee, O LORD may he find his hope: cause him to know that you will hear. 

 

Using the same steps, this is the prayer that I wrote for another of my sons: 

 

Father, please create in ______ heart a desire that whatever he eats, or drinks, or does in life, that he will do all to Your glory. I pray that whatever his hand finds to do, that he would do it with all of his might. 

I ask you to give ______ wisdom and discernment in choosing his friends. May he be reminded that Amnon had a friend that destroyed him. Please give ______ wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore, like you did for Solomon. Teach him to number his days so that he will apply his heart unto wisdom. May he fear You so that he can gain knowledge and cause his heart to never despise wisdom, but to love instruction. Father, please mold his heart to desire wisdom and understanding and forget it not. If sinners entice ______, may he never consent. May he never decline from the words of Your mouth. Please bring many wise men and peers into his life that he would walk with them and be wise and guard him from foolish companions that will destroy him. As iron sharpeneth iron, may _______ be influenced by godly friends. 

May the words of ________ mouth and the meditation of his heart always be acceptable in Your sight. Father, I pray that ______ will not set his heart on things of this world, but that he would set his affection on things above. May ______ not labor to be rich, nor set his eyes on that which is not. Cause him to not set his heart on riches. I beseech You to protect ______ heart from becoming conformed to this world: but that he would be transformed by the renewing of his mind, that he may prove Your perfect will for his life.   

Please show ______ the path of life, cause him to know that in Thy presence is fullness of joy and at Your right hand are pleasures for evermore. God, please set ______ heart and soul to seek you always. May _______, our son, know You, the God of his father and mother. May he serve You with a perfect heart and with a willing mind, because You search all the hearts, and understand all the imaginations of his thoughts. May ______ forever be reminded that if he seeks You, You will be found. 

 

Prayer is certainly one of the biggest ways we can impact the hearts of our children. Using God's word and His promises as prayers for our children is powerful! May we as mammas use this tool and see God mold and shape their hearts and lives into faithful servants of the Most High. Martin Luther said, “To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive  without breathing”. If our prayers were the only thing between our children and the Devourer, how would they fare? 

 

“It is well said that neglected prayer is the birthplace of all evil”. -Charles Spurgeon. May we not neglect our children in the area of fervent prayer.