Month: January 2017

“In the human body, the cells that only benefit themselves are known as cancer,” the old lady told Ann Voscamp in “The Broken Way”

In the church body, humans that benefit only themselves are slaves, and that is not what Jesus died for.

We start a new passage today.  “It is for freedom that Christ set us free.” But in the very next breath we are warned that slavery still looms.  Christ provided the escape-how do we stay escaped?  By walking in His Spirit.

Father, I pray these precious children would let your Spirit guide their lives- not just let it, but moment by moment listen, seek, yearn for the guidance of your Spirit. Our sinful natures crave so many things that lead to slavery and death, Father. Christ has set us free- I pray that we would grow into that freedom by your power through the presence of your Spirit. #prayersformychildren2017

This one is aimed straight at you, kids.  All week I’ve been praying for your friendships- that you would have friends who love God and love you, that you would be that friend to those you love. And I’ve seen that you do- you have great friends, and the loyalty runs deep.  So how do you protect the incredible gift of friendship? How do you help each other through the toxic culture and precarious choices that are all part of the growing up years?

Kids whom I love- pray for each other.  You know each other so well- you know each others’ struggles and strengths, you know the stories and the dramas.

And you know God, and he knows you.

No other gift you give will ever compare with the magnitude of power, the incomprehensible value of prayer.

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.” (1John 5:14-15)

#prayerformychildren2017 #prayforyourfriends

“I’m starting to realize my friends are just good people” my 13 year old told me Sunday.  With a bursting heart I hear him talk about how glad he is that his friends keep their language and conversation clean, and always act just the way they are–it doesn’t change based on who is around.  Perfect? No way.  But my kids are truly blessed with good friends, and I thank God for them and for the parents who are raising them.

The thing is, I pray my kids would BE good friends as well.  It can be hard sometimes- the  grace, forgiveness, patience that it takes to be a friend. The wisdom to choose wisely, or to know when it is time to let go.  The boldness to speak, or the discernment to be quiet. And the sense to realize that it all begins at home.

Father, please grow our children and their future spouses in their relationships with friends and family.  I pray they will have and be friends who are loyal, loving and godly. #prayersformychildren2017

“Can I trust that He is enough to make me enough?”

This is what faith comes down to, isn’t it? When Ann Voscamp asks this question in “The Broken Way” I realize this is the faith I want for my children- and myself.  I want them to have confidence in tackling bold goals, or insecurities, or unexpected challenges.  I want them to have faith that they are loved, wanted, and equipped.  But if their faith is in themselves and their own abilities, it’s not enough.

Lord, I pray our children will grow in the faith that you are working in them- strengthening, empowering, enabling each one daily.  I pray that they will call on you in every situation, allowing your Spirit to guide them in all that they do. If any Spirit of self sufficiency or independence from you develops, I pray that it will be quickly and completely quenched. #prayersformychildren2017

I can’t let this day pass without praying that my children will live as advocates for justice in our world. I am convinced our nation would be in a very different place today if Martin Luther King Jr had not lived and lead the way he did in the path of Christ.

Father, I pray that we all would be extremists for love, truth and goodness. We have sometimes been blind to or unconcerned for the continued injustices in our nation; forgive us, and help us to see.  I pray our children would follow the path of Christ, rising above their environment in creatively seeking goodness, truth and love for all.

#prayersformychildren2017

There really is nothing a Christ follower wants more, is there? Than to see her kids grow in favor with God? We know God loves our kids more than we do, and that his attention is turned to the most minute detail of their being. But to know that our children are growing in favor with God? There is no greater desire in our hearts.

Lord, grow my children and their future spouses in faith.  I pray they will know- not just in their minds but in their hearts and souls- that you exist, and you reward those who seek you.  I pray they would seek you will all their hearts for all their days.  #prayersformychildren2017

I love this definition of “health” from Dallas Willard. It speaks the truth of creation, that we are not “bodies with souls but souls that have bodies” as CS Lewis said, and we cannot separate our lives here on earth from the part of us that is continually in God’s presence. Our actions, our words, our habits, our feelings- they come from our soul, and if we try to live in a way that is discordant with our beliefs we cannot be healthy.

Father in Heaven, I pray our kids would live with integrity of will, mind, body and soul. I pray they would center their lives on their relationships with you, seeking to know you with their whole hearts for their whole lives.

“Jesus grew in wisdom, stature…”

I’m just going to call that health. We’ve had some tough health scares hit our friends lately- cancer, autoimmune hepatitis, diabetes- and that’s all in kids.  So of course we pray for health, for healing.  And most of our prayers are directly concerned with spiritual health; we won’t leave that out this week either.  But healthy habits of nutrition, sleep, exercise are hard! It is hard to find a good balance, and then find it again when schedules change or maturity brings new commitments.

Father, I pray our kids would honor you in the way they care for their bodies, your temple.  I pray they would eat healthy foods, exercise daily and sleep regularly. Show them when they have gotten out of balance and help them quickly correct their habits so that they are caring for this intricate, beautiful creation which is the human body.

“Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor Got with your body.”  Cor 6:19-20

As we pray this week that our kids would cry out for wisdom, more and more areas of life come to my attention in need of prayer.  What aspects of life are you convicted to cover in prayer?

Here is one of mine-

Lord, I pray my kids would choose music that wakens their hearts to your power and glory.  I pray they would turn off the music that subtly (or not!) instills worldly values.

Lord, hear our prayer.

“Let me write the songs of a nation and I care not who writes its laws” Andrew Fletcher, 1703