What Your Child Deserves – Part 3

Keep his decrees and commands, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and your children after you and that you may live long in the land the LORD your God gives you for all time. Deuteronomy 4:40

Sometimes we get scared because our kids remind us so much of ourselves. We see in them the same fears and proclivities that we have struggled with. We watch them veering off life’s highway in some of the same spots where we crashed and burned, and it’s difficult not to want to save them. But sometimes we can’t. They’ve grown up with their own mindset, strengths, and dreams. And if the parable of the prodigal son teaches us anything, it’s that good parents can raise children who are only capable of learning the hard way. So what can you do? Pray for them – and ‘be there’ when they return. Many a successful adult was once a prodigal saved by the prayers of a parent who refused to give up on them. If what you’re doing is taking you away from prayer time for your children, your priorities are wrong. There’s nothing more valuable than the time you spend before God interceding on their behalf. You say, ‘But I don’t know how to pray.’ Try this:

Prayer
‘Father, I’m concerned about the direction my children are taking. Right now they seem beyond the reach of my voice and influence. But You can reach them. You can remind them of what they’ve been taught – and initiate the circumstances that will bring them back to You. Your Word says if I obey You, things will go well for me and my children (Deuteronomy 4:40). So I stand on Your promise, believing they’ll choose to serve You and walk in Your blessing for the rest of their lives. In Christ’s name I pray. Amen.’