I lost my book. MY book. The one that I had written our kids’ names in for years. The one that guided me in my prayers for my children. My BOOK!
I kept it on my bedside table. Always. And now, suddenly, it was gone.
I searched everywhere.
I called my sister-in-law to see if I had loaned it to her.
Nope.
I checked the library shelves to make sure I hadn’t donated it in one of my frenzied everything-must-go moments.
Nothing.
It’s been years since I last saw that book. And the prayers I had documented that I prayed for my kids…
Such as…
I had always prayed for my kids’ future spouse, from the time we knew they were on the way. *Brownie Points for me! ~lol
But really, marriage is so important in a person’s life…if a person is going to marry, it needs to be to the right person.
Sometimes, when my kids were being especially “trying,” I’d pray for their future spouse in a different light: Lord, please let _________’s future spouse know exactly how to handle that attitude!” 🙂
I got a copy of the The Power of a Praying Parent when my kids were ages 1, 3, and 5. Lord, help me! I get tired just thinking about it!
Anyway, nearly every chapter of this book reminded me of things to pray for that I hadn’t even thought about! I had never thought about that my one-year-old needed me to pray for her to “Live Free of Unforgiveness,” much less “Following Truth,” “Identifying God-given Gifts and Talents,” or “Receiving a Sound Mind.”
This book covers it all and lots more.
It’s structured with each chapter having a short overview of what the prayer is about, why it’s important in a child’s life, and then there is an actual prayer written at the end, followed by Bible verses that connect to the issue.
I love how even within each prayer, it’s interwoven with scripture.
Praying God’s word over our children is powerful.
I remember one area, specifically, that one of our kids was struggling to overcome: fear. The verse in that section became a promise from God that I stood upon and mostly fell upon and clung to during that time.
He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night…
Psalm 91:4-5
Fears for our kids are some of the most scary things we’ll ever experience…and when something has them fearful, well, it’s doubly painful.
I know that those verses comforted me and my child. Moreover, these verses are promises from the Lord. I meditated on this verse and shared it, in parts, with my little one…And finally, my child no longer has these “terrors by night,” thank the Lord.
I remember praying about “Having the Motivation for Proper Body Care”…as my kids moved into the tween and teen stage. Because: Body Odor. Acne. Puberty is not kind to us!
Omartian’s writing ability is just amazing. She writes in such a way that it seems to be applicable to whatever situation your child is facing.
For example, in the section on “Attracting Godly Friends and Role Models,” part of the prayer goes like this:
I pray that You would take anyone who is not a godly influence out of his (or her) life or else transform that person into Your likeness.
OK, that is a great thing to pray for our kids!
What Worked {for me}
I always want a system about the things I do regularly…so I developed a process of when to pray for what….
Initially, I pretty much went through and prayed “the next chapter” for a different child each night.
Some nights, I’d pray for all three, in their own specific chapters, but most nights, I just prayed for one, on a rotating basis.
By going through each of the chapters in order, I made sure that I had “covered all the bases,” so to speak, with the prayers prayed for each child.
If there was a particular situation going on, I detoured in order to pray for that particular thing for a day or more, but then I came back to the order of the chapters.
This is kind of like having a daily Bible reading plan. It keeps you on track, allows you to focus on what God’s saying instead of spending all your time trying to figure out where to start.
As a working mom with young kids (babies!) when I started this, I needed the structure that this book provided.
Now, I tend to go specifically to what that child’s currently facing and pray that prayer…
Oh, so that sort of gives away “the rest of the story.”
So, a few months ago, I couldn’t get the top drawer to close in my bedside table. I mentioned it to Derek and then didn’t think any more of it. At some point, it occurred to him that maybe my book was the culprit. He dug around behind the drawer, and voila! There it was!
The table I had searched above, below, beside, behind…and in every drawer….was right there all along.
It was right there, behind the drawer, waiting patiently for its moment to be found. I felt like the father of the prodigal son or the widow who swept the floor and found her lost money. Not to down play those stories, but oh what a relief to finally find this treasure!
I love happy endings. 🙂
What do you pray for your children?