[Please join me in praying for children, families, and our future on Thursdays this year.]
“Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.'” (Matthew 19:14 NIV)
Last spring I attended a state-wide conference that had a lot to say about raising children. Today I remember some of the quotes from that conference and use them to pray over our kids.
“Remember that in raising your children, you are raising parents for your grandchildren….You should be delighting in the law of the Lord because if you pass out from lack of [spiritual] oxygen, your kid is a goner.” – Heidi St. John
“Childhood is not a race to see how quickly a child can read, write, and count…” Magda Gerber
“When we hand our children phones we steal boredom from them.” – Glennon Doyle
“There is no pit so deep, that God’s love is not deeper still.” – Betsie Ten Boom
“When one man stands up, the spines of others are stiffened.” – Billy Graham.
“Rest in God’s sovereignty for your kids.” – LaNissir James
Jesus,
Thank you for the reminder that we should never inhibit our kids from coming to you. Thank you for your love and mercy and grace poured out upon those who seek you. Today we come to intercede for children and families and our future because we know that you love children and families, and you have a hopeful plan for our future. God, I pray for parents to have your vision for raising their children. Help them to seek you first, to overflow with your Spirit, and to then pour it out upon their children and grandchildren. Help us to overflow with patience as we raise our children – to remember that childhood is not a race to be won and boredom is not an enemy to be avoided. Help us to stand up with courage to the ideas and the worldviews that are from the pit of hell so that they will not prevail. Help us to protect our children from evil, but raise them up with a heart to reach out to those who have never known anything but ungodliness. Help us remember that there is no place we can go – by choice or by chance – that your love cannot reach us. Your sovereignty over all includes our kids, so help us remember, embrace, and enjoy your omnipotence. You are a great and mighty king who rules over all . Thank you for the reassurance that gives us. We ask for your continued wisdom, guidance, and blessing upon us and our families, in Jesus’s name, AMEN.
“But the Lord is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced; their dishonor will never be forgotten.” (Jeremiah 20:11 NIV)
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of Godthat is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39 NIV)
“My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds,
of your saving acts all day long—
though I know not how to relate them all.
I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, Sovereign Lord;
I will proclaim your righteous deeds, yours alone.
Since my youth, God, you have taught me,
and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.” (Psalm 71:15-17 NIV)