Praying for Our Children

There is no greater impact we can have on our kids than prayer. There are countless books and resources on praying for our kids. I have no doubt read and used most of them throughout the years.

Some of my favorite resources are:

The Power of a Praying Parent by Stormie Omartian

Praying the Scriptures for Your Children by Jodie Berndt

Additionally, I just took our Family Mission Statement - https://mightyacorns613.blogspot.com/2021/07/a-family-mission-statement.html - and turned it into a Daily Prayer Guide.

P.R.A.Y.

This week, I am reading through the Sermon on the Mount along with my church through a method called F260 (which I love and highly encourage). Part of the Sermon on the Mount was Jesus telling how to pray through a very familiar and often memorized passage called "The Lord's Prayer." Now this prayer was not meant to just be memorized and repeated, but was to be a model of prayer. There is a great acronym (you know how I love those) that helps me remember how to pray and is great to teach our kids.

P - Praise

R - Repent

A - Ask

Y - Yield

P - Praise God for who is He and what He has done in my life. 
      God has so many names and so many attributes/qualities/characteristics.
      He is Accessible, Creative, Eternal, Forgiving, Gracious, Holy, Immutable (Never Changes),
      Just, Light, Merciful, Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent, Peace, Righteous, Sovereign.
      I could go on an on with names and qualities of God. 
      Ex. "God, You are Accessible. I can come boldly to You anytime, anywhere, with anyone,
      about anything. I am so thankful that because of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross,
      I do not have to go through someone else to get to You."
      Of course, you can probably sit and write a long list of all the things God has done in your life.
      That is thanksgiving or giving thanks to God. 
      Ex. "Lord, I am so thankful for how You have provided for my family during this time.
      Thank You!"
      "Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be Your name." (Matthew 6:9)

R - Repent of my sins to God.
      I don't know about you, but I haven't lived a single day without sinning.
      If I do, I will let you know (but then that would be pride and that's a sin LOL!). 
      Sometimes I am very aware of my sins, but at times, I need God to reveal them to me. 
      Ex. "Father, Please search me and show me any sins in my heart, my mind, my words, 
      my attitude, my actions, my temptations, my walk. Please forgive me for ___________.
      I am having a hard time forgiving __________. Please help me forgive them."
      "And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
       And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one." (Matthew 6:12-13)

A - Ask/Petition God.
       I would assume this is the part of prayer most of us are "good at." 
       We bring our list to God and ask Him to meet those needs.
       This is when we pray for ourselves, our (future) spouse, our (future) marriage,
       our (future) kids, our (future) parenting, our family, our home, our finances, our school,
       our friends, our neighbors, our church, our ministries, missionaries, our country, our world,
       lost people, sick people, and needy people.
       Ex. "Lord, I pray for ___________ and their need for __________."
       "Give us this day our daily bread." (Matthew 6:11)

Y - Yield your plans/will to God's.
      "Prayer connects my heart/will/plans to God's heart/will/plans."
      Ex. "Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
      For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen." (Matthew 6:10, 13)

  

The "Perfect" Time to Pray

"When should I pray?" 

For years I have asked myself and others this question. Honestly at times, I didn't feel like I was being a Super Christian (what even is that anyways?) since I wasn't getting up before the sun and spending hours in prayer. 

Some well-meaning people have told me over the years, "It says in the Scripture to have your time with God in the morning." Well, that is somewhat true. But I'll let you in on a little secret, it says many, many other things about prayer time in the Bible. Here we go.

1st Thessalonians 5:16 - Pray without ceasing/continually/constantly/at all times.

Based on this verse, we should always have a heart and attitude of prayer. I think of this as a 24/7 Bluetooth to God. LOL! We can and should talk to Him anytime. That means we can and should pray in the morning, in the evening, in the middle of the day, in the middle of the night (I am seriously thinking of Dr. Seuss right now.)

Mark 1:35 - Very early in the morning, a long while before daylight (while it was still dark),
He [Jesus] went out and He prayed.
Yes, there it is. Jesus got up super early in the morning before the sun even woke up and He prayed. But wait, there's more (cue infomercial for prayer).

Matthew 14:23 - He [Jesus] went up on the mountain by Himself to pray.
Now when evening came, He was alone there.

Well, well, well. It looks like Jesus was praying in the afternoon up until evening. (Pause for applause for all those who are not early risers.) But wait, there's more.

Luke 6:12 - He [Jesus] went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer.

Again, we see Jesus praying on a mountain (I love praying in the mountains myself). Here we see Him praying all night. 

Okay, forgive me for any times I came across as snarky, but I am trying to make a point. The point is, the "perfect" time to pray is anytime. Whether you are a person who is up with the crack of dawn praying, or you are more like me spending your afternoon when the kids are all quiet praying, or you are a night owl who prays at night, it all counts. It's truly about our heart being connected to God's heart. And one last silly statement, God is always awake. :)