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Friday, June 3, 2011

The Most Important Thing We Can Do For Our Kids...

is to pray for them. It's to humble ourselves before the Lord and beg him for mercy and for salvation and for all the things our kids really need.

As a mom, I spend so much time questioning everything I do. "Does that one deserve a spank or a time out?" "Should I worry about the thumb sucking if it's only at night?" "Is now the time to whip out the training potty?!" "Why does he just go sit in his time out spot on his own sometimes!? He's supposed to hate it there!"

I constantly wonder how the decisions my husband and I make regarding our son will affect him down the road. Well... I can't be sure of any of that right now. But, the one thing that I know will affect him both today and for the years to come are the prayers that are offered up on his behalf.

As a believer, I feel like there are some definite weaknesses in my walk. I'm far too self-confident and sometimes almost always forget to wait on the Lord to lead. I step out and then remember to pray and seek direction. Ugh! It's so frustrating to know it's wrong and continually do it! And I don't want to do that with the best blessing I've ever received - motherhood. I want to approach it cautiously and humbly, admitting to the Lord many times a day that I can't do it without him. In an effort to bolster this often-weak area of my life, I did a little craft project for my son's first birthday party.

I took an adorable picture of him and pasted it on construction paper. Below it, I used construction paper to create a "pocket." Within the pocket, I dropped slips of paper that had prayers on them. I gave them out as "favors" (sorry to those of you who were hoping for candy!) at his party and begged my family and friends to pray with us for our son throughout his next year of life. I even laminated the prayers...by hand...which took forever and made me temporarily regret my bright decision to make them more durable.

These are the things I pray over my son, Corben, every night when I'm tucking him in, and sporadically throughout the day...and they are what my family was asked to pray for as well. I'm begging the Lord for these things...and I thought that by sharing them, it may provide a little jump-start to get you praying diligently for your kids as well. Sub in the names of your little ones and hit your knees, people. Our time with our kids is so short... (actual prayers are italicized)


Continued Health…he has been so blessed with no illness to speak of. Let’s thank God for that! And please pray with us that God would continue that trend and that should an illness come, God would have mercy with Corben and heal him quickly.

"Bring health and healing to [Corben]; heal [him] and let [him] enjoy abundant peace and security." Jeremiah 33:6

Learning… Corben has hit all of his developmental milestones to this point right on time. Let’s give God praise for that! Pray with us that he would continue learning as he should and that his little brain would continue to soak in this great world around him…all the way through his college years, that the Lord would bless his mind and direct his path.

"[Lord, allow Corben to] Get wisdom, get understanding; [to] not forget [Your] words or turn away from them. [Help him to] not forsake wisdom, and she will protect [him]; love her, and she will watch over [him]. The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding. [Help him] Cherish her, and she will exalt [him]; [if he] embraces her, she will honor [him]. She will give [him] a garland to grace [his] head and present [him] with a glorious crown.” Proverbs 4:5-9

Salvation…Pray with us that God would reveal himself to Corben at an early age and that Corben will be able to grasp His wonder and live a life to bring glory to His name; that he would be a Man among men, living in relationship with the Lord.

"[Help Corben to see and understand that] God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8
"[Please lead Corben to] declare with [his] mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in [his] heart that God raised him from the dead, [so he] will be saved." Romans 10:9

Protection…Pray with us that God would continue to watch over Corben when he is in our care and at daycare or with family members, out of our site. Pray that God’s hand would cover Corben and keep him safe this year and going forward, and that Corben could feel the comfort there is in God’s care.

"Do not withhold your mercy from [Corben], LORD; may your love and faithfulness always protect [him]." Psalm 40:11

Personality…we are so thankful for the personality God has chosen to give Corben. Pray with us that He would continue to develop Corben’s personality and that the traits He’s given Corben would be used to bring God glory.

"Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, [Lord, please] clothe [Corben] with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. [Help him] bear with others and forgive one another of any grievance [he has] against someone. [Help him] to forgive as the Lord forgave [him]. And over all these virtues, [we pray that Corben would] put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." Colossians 3:12-14

Priority…while we love Corben so very deeply and are thankful for him beyond words, pray with us that he would not be our focus, but that his Heavenly Father would be. Pray that we would continue to mind our priorities and keep Corben where he should be…standing in line behind Christ.

"For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." Colossians 1:16-17

Future friends and spouse…We believe it’s never too early to start praying for the future. Pray with us that Corben would make godly friends to surround himself with…friends that will encourage his faith and challenge his walk and grow with him. Also pray with us that the Lord would send him a godly helper to call his wife. A woman who loves God more than she’ll love Corben and who will partner with him as iron to sharpen iron.

"[Help Corben to] fear the LORD and the king, and to not join with those who do otherwise, for disaster from them will rise suddenly, and who knows the ruin that will come from them both?" Proverbs 24:21-22
"A wife of noble character, [Lord, help Corben] find. She is worth far more than rubies. [Let her] bring him good, not harm, all the days of her life. [Let her] set about her work vigorously; her arms be strong for her tasks. [Let her] open her arms to the poor and extend her hands to the needy. [Let her be] clothed with strength and dignity. [Let her] speak with wisdom, and faithful instruction be on her tongue. [Let her] watch over the affairs of her household and not eat the bread of idleness. [Let] her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: [Lord, may Corben find a mate of whom we can say,]'Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.' Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but [Lord, provide Corben with] a woman who fears the LORD [and she will] be praised." Proverbs 31

Us…pray for us as we attempt to teach Corben about Christ and raise him over this next year. Pray that everything we do and say would point back to Christ and that he would understand our real reason for life…bringing God glory! Pray that our decisions would be God-directed and that our home would constantly be filled the joy of the Lord and a love of Him and each other that can only come from Christ.

"[Lord, help us] discipline[Corben], for in that there is hope; do not [let us] be a willing party to [his] death." Proverbs 19:18
"[Lord, help us] Fix these words of [yours] in [our] hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on [our] hands and bind them on [our] foreheads. Teach them to [Corben], talking about them when [we] sit at home and when [we] walk along the road, when [we] lie down and when [we] get up." Deuteronomy 11: 18-19
"[Lord, help us] train up [Corben] in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6

Those are my prayers. Feel free to make them yours. Sub in the name of your little one(s) and begin diligently lifting them up. Prayer is not a strong suit for me, I am ashamed to say. But it is a privilege to pray for my precious son. Getting my prayers on paper in a tangible way has been such a huge help to me, and I hope it is to you.

What are your prayers for your kids? Any verses you continuously offer up on their behalf? I'd love to throw some variety into mine. Please do share!

And God bless! Parenting isn't easy. Thank goodness we have an ever-present Helper just waiting for us to humbly ask for his assistance.

1 comment:

  1. Thank you for sharing. I used to keep a prayer journal just for each child when they were babies. Perhaps I need to do that again!

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