Posts
Thursday, November 17
Today, I bring you another sweet cyber-friend, Stephanie Shott. As Stephanie wrote to me, “Lately I’ve been talking to moms who need this more than ever! The enemy is working overtime to defeat God’s children by trying to take ground in our children’s lives and I just want to encourage the hearts of each mom who has a prodigal and the one who don’t to pray for their kids like crazy.”
Please leave her some comment love...
I remember when we were on the mission field and we were struggling with some issues in our family. I looked at my husband and said, “I will not win a nation and lose my own son!”
No matter how successful I am in life, if my children do not walk with God, I will feel like I failed in the most important role I’ve ever been given...the role of a mother.
I realize that our job is to raise them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord; that we are to live out loud for Jesus in front of them and that we are to equip them in the Word. I also realize they are responsible to God for the choices they make once they become adults.
But just because the clock of life ticks past the magic age of 18 and our children become adults, we never stop being their mothers...and so we never stop praying.
Whether your little bundle of joy still resides in your womb or lives in his or her own home, you are still a mom... and we all know - there ain’t no love like a momma’s love!
That means, no one will pray for your kids like you will! No one will love your kids like you will! No one will bombard heaven for your kids like you will!
And while we do a lot of things for our children, there is nothing greater work than the that of prayer; there is no greater way to spend your time as a mother than on your knees in intercession for your kids.
As Oswald Chambers once said, “Prayer is the greater work!”
But as you pray, be specific. Cover them well in prayer. Seek God’s face for their future. Pray protection over them. Ask God to guard their hearts. Ask God to rebuke the enemy and to shield your children from every fiery dart he tries to send their way.
There’s so much to pray for. So many needs our children have. But the greatest and most important prayer we can pray is for the salvation of their souls.
So, here are a few verses we can cling to in prayer...claim by faith...and trust to come to pass. Here are some verses that we can pray knowing we are praying according to God’s will:
“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, 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 the petitions that we have asked of Him. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.” 1 John 5:14-15
“Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.” Matthew 18:14
“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9
“This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” 1 Timothy 2:3-4
“Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.” Acts 16:31
“And He said to them, ‘Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, “Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him”; and he will answer from within and say, “Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you”? I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs. So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.’” Luke 11:5-10
There are a host of other verses you can pray for your children...but hopefully, these will get you started.
Go back over those precious verses, sweet friend. Look at how many times it talks about the will of God. When we pray God’s Word back to Him in accordance to His will, we know He hears us - we know He is working behind the scenes of our children’s lives to bring about their salvation.
Hold on to heaven with all you’ve got and bombard the throne of God for the salvation of your children. Whether they’re a newborn babe or an adult, you’re still their mom and no one is going to pray for them like you are! Absolutely no one!
If your child is saved, you are surely blessed! You have the joy of watching your children walk in the truth. Pray for those who don’t have that same joy. Pray for their children. Join them in prayer as one mother praying on behalf of another!
Join hands and hearts for the salvation of the next generation and let’s see what God will do when we do our greatest work...on our knees!
Are you praying for your child? Are you praying for someone else’s child? Would you like to add some verses for mothers to cling to and claim as they pray for their children’s salvation?
If you’d like to list your child’s name in the comment section, I’d be honored to pray for them. No one will ever pray for your children like you. But no one will ever understand the prayer of a mother’s heart like another mother!
Let’s pray for our children – let’s keep knocking until the door opens – let’s keep trusting God to part the Red Sea of their lives and my He give us the privilege of seeing the salvation of the Lord in their lives!
~Please visit Stephanie’s wonderful site.
Beautiful and thanks for the reminder. This is very important work for us moms.
Tears are streaming down my face for a number of reasons as I read this. I'll just say "thank you" for this Stephanie, and thank you for your obedient, loving and tender heart. It's your deep love for your Father that enables you to love others and share the truth of God's Word the way you do. Sending love and prayers to you Steph.
Terra ~ You are so right! It's very important work for us! Whether they're babies or adults - prayer is the greater work! :-)
Blessings to you!
Shelly ~ Thanks you for you kind words, sweet friend! It's so easy to leave off the greatest thing we can do for them. To pray for them to know Christ...to pray for those who do to be strong...to pray like crazy for our kids because no one else will pray for them like we do!
Love ya, friend! :-)
Thanks for this post, I do not have children, but I do have family members to pray for :) Be specific in prayer, that is the second time I heard that this week...
All my children are adults and they need more prayer now. I also pray for the grandchildren of my adult kids. Prayers for adults can sometimes be similar. Here are a couple of verses that I use to pray for all my kids. To know Christ Jesus as Savior early in life. 2Timothy 3:15. Desire the right kind of friends and be protected from the wrong friends. Proverbs 1: 10-11. Respect those in authority over them. Romans 13:1.
Thank you for this post. My deepest desire is for my children and grandchildren to come to salvation.
Marja ~ You inspire me with your heart to pray for others' children! You don't have to have children to have a sweet and nurturing heart! What a blessing you are, my friend!
I'm reminded of Deborah in the Bible. It says she is the Mother of Israel, yet never mentions she had any children of her own. But that didn't stop her from being the mother to a nation.
Love you heart!
Carma ~ Thank you so much for sharing those verses and sharing about your own experience as a mom. You are so right about how hard it is when they are adults. I wish someone would have told me how hard it is to be parents of adult children. Crazy hard!
But thankful God loves them so much more than I do!
Great post. God reminds us that we are only stewards of the children He places in our care and that as much as we love them, He loves them even more.
I woke up this morning at 3 am to pray for daughter and her fiance and her roommate driving home from college this morning. We never stop praying for our children.
Thank you for the encouragement.
Carol ~ What great wisdom! And thanks so much for sharing how you woke up at 3 am and began praying for your daughter and her fiance!
Our sleepless nights are often opportunities and even God's call to pray! What great insight you have given us!
Terra, Shelly, Marja, Carma, and Carol...thank you all so much for supporting Stephanie and her post. It does my heart good. Blessings to each of you!
As one of my sons graduated from basic training, the son who by faith got to where he is now, I realized that it was time to turn off the teacher, the disciplinarian, the organizer, the scheduler, but I kept on the encourager button, the love button and the prayer button. Prayer can go places I cannot. Your post is dear to my heart - it is a post I have lived and continue to live. Thank you!
Blue Cotton Memory ~ I love the way you said, "Prayer can go places I cannot!" Beautifully said. Wonderfully true!
Yes, we must never cease to pray for all lost souls, especially our own children. We can't control much in this life, but we can pray unceasingly for closed hearts to be opened. Thank you for the encouragement and the reminder to never give up.
Cecillia ~ I love how you said we can pray for closed hearts to be opened! What a great prayer for a prodigal! Thanks for sharing!
Maryleigh and Ceci, thanks so much for leaving some comment love for Stephanie. I know she appreciates it. So do I! Bless you!
The single point that no one is praying for my children more than me drove me to my bedroom for prayer! Powerful and provoking!
Stephanie,
Once again another great post. Keep 'Em coming, girlfriend!!
Marsha
Jeanette, I love that same point. So humbling. Thank you so much for stopping by and commenting. Blessings to you!
Thanks so much, Marsha, for supporting Stephanie with you sweet comment. It's appreciated. Blessings to you!
Jeanette ~ I'm with you on that! I sometimes have to ask myself if I'm praying for my children like I'm desperate for God to save them or work in their lives in a specific area! And if no one will pray for them like we will, then I need to remain desperate for them
So thankful for the promises He gives to pray back to Him! :-)
Marsha ~ Thank you SO much for stopping by with such encouraging words! What a blessing you are, my friend! :-)
Great post and great reminders from Scripture...even for us dads out here. We spend a lot of time in prayer for our kids, too. :-)
Amen, Mike! Goes for the dads as well. Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting. Happy to see you here. Blessings to you!