Skip to main content

Families' Fridays


Four Daily Prayers for Your Children

Article by 
Chad Ashby
Pastor, Newberry, South Carolina


Our kids never seem to be at a loss for words. Even with tiny vocabularies, it is astounding how well they are able to fill any silence with a thousand little syllables. We parents are a different story. In homes full of questions and needs, it can be hard for our fried brains to put together even broken phrases. Sometimes I find myself stuttering as I try to talk to my kids — like I need a hard reset.
Especially with small kids, prayers can be difficult to lace together. We have a thousand requests for our children: that they would be saved, that they would learn obedience, that they would finally learn to eat broccoli, that they would quit hitting other kids in their class, and on and on. Where do we start?
I believe one of the ways the Spirit graciously intercedes for us as parents is by giving us prayers to pray from the Scriptures (Romans 8:26).
As I struggled recently to express my heart’s desire for my kids, one succinct little sentence from Luke’s Gospel kept coming out of my mouth: “Like you, Jesus, may my kids increase ‘in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man’” (Luke 2:52). Consider with me this Spirit-inspired verse, a perfect, four-part summary of our prayers for our kids to become like Christ in every way. Let’s examine each of these in turn.

1. Increase in Wisdom

Our children are little sponges. My son knows the names of every dinosaur that ever walked the face of planet earth. However, our prayer for our kids is not merely that they would grow in knowledge but in wisdom. Wisdom is a disposition toward God and a way of walking life’s path. In Proverbs, Solomon explains: “In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil” (Proverbs 3:6–7).
Read the rest HERE

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Grace Too Small

Last evening our sermon passage was found in Genesis 38.  It is an ugly passage.  It tells the story of Judah, his sons Er, Onan, and Shelah, and Er's wife Tamar.  Judah marries a Canaanite woman and has three sons.  His sons are so evil that God kills both Er and Onan for their wickedness.  Because Judah fears the loss of his remaining son, he fails to fulfill his obligation to Tamar of marrying her to his last son so that an heir might be raised up to Er.  Seeing the failure of her father-in-law, Tamar takes matters into her own hand by dressing as a prostitute and sleeping with Judah.  Judah, unaware of with whom he has had sex, subsequently hears that Tamar is pregnant by immorality. He demands that she be brought out and burned for her crime (can anyone say "hypocrite?").  Tamar then produces the evidence against her father-in-law and he relents.  The story ends with the birth of twin boys. I jokingly called the sermon the "Jerry ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Getting Ready for Friday

Learn to know Christ and him crucified. Learn to sing to him, and say, "Lord Jesus, you are my righteousness, I am your sin. You have taken upon yourself what is mine and given me what is yours. You have become what you were not so that I might become what I was not." --Martin Luther
Post a Comment
Read more

Only One Life

Two little lines I heard one day, Traveling along life’s busy way; Bringing conviction to my heart, And from my mind would not depart; Only one life, ‘twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last. Only one life, yes only one, Soon will its fleeting hours be done; Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet, And stand before His Judgment seat; Only one life, ‘twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last. C. T. Studd
Post a Comment
Read more