Praying For Our Children: A Holy Privilege
Written by Nancie Carmichael
“The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” James 5:16
Though we love our kids! But those bundles of joy can turn into bundles of worry, especially when summer ends and off they go back to school. And maybe to college! Or if they’re older, to jobs, or to a new relationship. As we hug them goodbye, we wonder, “Will they succeed at their dreams?” “Will my daughter have a teacher who gets her? What is my son learning, anyway?”
How I remember the back-to-school angst of our own five children! The excitement, the newness. The anxiety. How we prayed for their success, their health, their happiness (and still do!). But many of us learn lessons the hard way, and we know it’s a sinful world and not everyone is kind. We do the best we can, but sometimes we don’t know what to do. James 1:5 says that if we need wisdom, we can ask God and He gives it to us. Liberally! I’m sure glad because I asked a lot—and still do. Sometimes “Jesus…Help!” was all I could say. Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7-8. And so, we ask. A lot.
Does prayer really matter? I believe it does. There is power in the Name! William Doane wrote, “Take the name of Jesus with you, Child of sorrow and of woe. It will joy and comfort give you, take it then where’er you go.” When we pray, we invite the presence of God. As we look back over the years of praying for our family, we can see God’s hand. Prayer matters.
How do we pray?
Be real in our prayer. An honest prayer of humility is powerful. C. S. Lewis wrote, “We must lay before him what is in us, not what ought to be in us.”
Pray in the ordinary moments of life. Pray before mealtimes, being thoughtful and intentional. A “prayer” hug as they leave for school. Bedtime prayers, which can be sacred moments. We grandparents can text brief prayers and/or scriptures to our growing up grands.
Pray with thanksgiving, trusting God with the outcome. Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God…will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” When we pray this way, we pray with faith—not with worry or fear. Jesus said, “…(we) always ought to pray and not lose heart.” Luke 18:1
No matter our situation, we are not without hope. Pray, Mom and Dad. Pray, grandparents. Pray, friends. Prayer is simple, yet powerful because when we pray, we open our lives to the presence of God—the One who made us and loves us more than we can imagine.
