Praying for my kids is something I passionately believe in and often forget to do on a consistent basis. I pray for patience with them (six snow days later, that’s almost become a mantra) and I pray for grace to love them well, but I don’t always pray for them.
I don’t know why. Perhaps it’s because to do so would require me to slow down and really get still. I’m not good at that. I hate sitting still. Unless I’m on a beach.
Maybe that’s what we need! We need to move to the beach. My kids would be covered in prayer then. And I’d be tan…
Wait. That’s not right. Scratch that.
The point is, I’m not good at sitting down and really pleading on behalf of my children. I have great days followed by a plateau of mediocrity and on and on the cycle goes. But the desire of my heart remains unchanged. I long to see my kids grow in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. I long to see them grow beyond a head knowledge of who Christ is and to develop a heart knowledge of Him.
I long to not screw them up.
I think my most consistent prayer for my kids is my pleading with the Lord to fill in the gaps where I am lacking as a parent. On the days when I’m impatient, crabby, tired or just not all there like they need me to be, I pray that the Lord steps in and makes whole any damage I may have unintentionally caused.
This is not an excuse for me to be lackadaisical in my parenting.
Lackadaisical…that’s a great word, isn’t it?
I wake up every morning desiring to be the mother my kids need me to be. I wake up every morning with a prayer on my heart to love my kids in a way that honors God and shows them they are blessed, cherished and loved. And, in the moments that I fail, I ask the God fill in the gaps where I am lacking.
And then I rest in the assurance and knowledge that He loves my kids more than I could ever possibly hope to.
How do you pray for your kids? Do you have specific verses that you pour over them? Do you have a specific place or way that you pray for your kids? If you feel comfortable sharing, I would love to hear how you are praying over your children in an attempt to encourage and spur one another on.
Happy Tuesday!
I had a ‘gap’ moment yesterday afternoon with my 15 yo. Am thankful for grace that follows apologies!
I try to pray daily that my man-children (22, 20 and 15) would be “men after God’s own heart”. I also pray that they would have strength against pornography that is all around them.
I have a friend that has showed me how to pray the scriptures over my kids.
There’s this book called, Praying the Scriptures for your Children, by Jodie Berndt. It is an awesome book!! It has a short story/real life example format then it list the scripture verses to pray over your kids that go along with it. EX….Lead __________ not into temptation, but deliver her/him from the evil one. Matt. 6:13
Whoopps……didn’t mean to be anonymous. I posted the #2 comment.
You’ve totally just solved all my problems: the beach! How could I not see that I would be full of grace, mercy and SPF 50 if I just moved to the beach?? 😛
Right now, my kids are giving me heart spasms over school (their dislike of it) so I’m specifically praying for discernment and guidance on that end (whether or not we need to make changes or just keep trudging on). Every day as I drive away from their school, I pray that they will be girls who have strength to overcome temptation and/or peer pressure and that they will be lights of God’s love for their classmates and teachers.
Great reminder, Kelli
Have you seen/heard of this:
http://audreycaroline.blogspot.com/2008/11/seven-prayers-day.html
7 Prayers A Day for your children. I thought it was pretty cool!
-Jess
Yes. Parents who live at the beach are perfect parents, right? Right?? I really love hearing the prayers and hearts of other parents for their kids. Thank you guys for sharing!
Jess – I had forgotten about that post Angie wrote. I love her blog. It’s so full of wisdom! 🙂
That’s what I’m thinking about these days – the proper way to pray for my little girl; the right words to choose not to miss something. I have got two wonderful prayers in russian to pray for children and for the marriage. They are here http://svitlalife.blogspot.com/2010/10/blog-post_12.html
Those prayers are beautiful, Sveta! I loved them. I think I’m going to write them out because I would love to pray those over my kids and my marriage as well. Prayer in two languages! That’s kind of fun. 🙂
Kelli, can I just say how beautiful this post is? The hopes you have expressed for your children are just so amazingly insightful.