by Lucinda Norman
Used by permission of Pray!. Copyright © (1998), The Navigators. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. To subscribe, visit www.navpress.com or call (800) 877-1811.
These eight tips can be used in praying for your children, no matter how old they are:
Tell your children that you pray for them. Children who know their parents pray for them will face their day and their problems with greater confidence. They know that God is hearing their circumstances and their names.
Take requests. Keep a pocket-sized prayer notebook. Ask your children about their concerns. Write them down, noting when they feel they need your prayers most. They'll see your seriousness in taking their concerns before God.
Ask God for insight. When your children give you a prayer request, be aware that things may not be what they seem. Ask God for wisdom to see into the core cause of a problem. Surrender your will for your children's lives to God. Pray for God's perspective on the problem and His appropriate answer.
Pray for your children at the same time each day. Not only will you be praying at a time your children can expect, but the routine helps you stay constant. My 70-year-old parents still pray for my siblings and me and our families at lunchtime each day. Pray with your children over the phone. If they phone home with a crisis, pray with them right then. This is a "soul touch" when physical touch is impossible. Its calming effect will help them hear God through their emotional static.
Pray universal topics. When your children have given no specific requests, pick two or three topics from the list below. Keep this list on the inside cover of your prayer notebook for reference:
Protection
Health
Relationships
Christian mentors
Guidance and decision making
Problem-solving and coping skills
Healthy perspective
Sense of accomplishment
Growth in knowledge
Goals and priorities
Financial provision
Spiritual growth
Confidence in God and themselves
Joy and contentment
Discernment
Leisure and relaxation
Write a personalized book of prayers. Using the universal topics above, write some personal prayers for each of your children. Put them in books and give the books to your children. Your words of faith will continue to comfort and encourage them as they journey through life.
Ask the Lord to reveal what you have missed. Ruth Ikerman advises this in her book, Let Prayer Help You: "It is surprising how often even the most obvious prayer overlooks some human element, which can be corrected by changing course. I ask myself, have I taken time to . . . think about the situation for which I am praying? Have I asked God to help me discover the apparent, which I may have been overlooking?"?
Give your children a priceless gift that money can't buy. Both you and your children will experience a lifetime of benefits from your prayers.