Heading Home

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 have no greater joy than to hear thatmy children are walking in the truth.”3 John 4 NIV
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.

The Pillar of Cloud.

Billowing majestically, it moved forward...and the Israelites advanced.

Pulsing with power, it hovered...and they pitched their tents and waited.

The Cloud...always in front of the people. “By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.” (Ex. 13:21-22 NIV)

The Angel of God. Giving divine guidance by day and fiery heat and light by night.

But the horses’ hoof beats pounded. The chariots rattled. And the marching soldiers’ footfall droned. The enemy closed in on them, in pursuit of their lives.

Israel shook in their sandals. They cried out to the Lord.

Moses said to them, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.” (Ex. 14:12-14 NKJV)

“Raise your rod, Moses,” God said. “Stretch out your hand over the sea. Divide it that Israel may walk through it on dry ground.”

“Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them...coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.” (Ex. 14:19a, 20 NIV, emphasis mine)

The Living Bible says, “It gave darkness to the Egyptians but light to the people of Israel!” (Ex. 14:20b) Darkness to the enemy; light to the people.

The Lord stood between His children and their enemy. He had their backs! And this enemy at the rear was history. God had a plan for their future and a path all mapped out for them to move forward.

God does the same for us. Sometimes, He performs His handiwork behind us, in the background. So, what is behind us? Our past? Depleted circumstances? Old way of thinking? Attempts of the enemy?

The Lord stands between us and whatever attempts to come against us, protecting us. He has our backs! Our enemy is history. God has a plan for our future and a path all mapped out for us to move forward.

No matter what is behind you, God has drowned it in the dark depths of the sea of forgiveness, if you have given it to Him. Don’t let worry go to the shed and pull out the ol’ fishing pole!

Whatever is on the other side of the cloud, the Lord stands ready to fight for you. Stand still and see what He will accomplish for you.

Let God’s pillar of cloud be darkness to what is behind you and a glory light to what is in front of you.



This post is part of Internet Café's Wordfilled Wednesday...

Measure defined means a unit or standard of measurement; the extent, dimensions, quantity, of something; any standard of comparison, estimation, or judgment; and so on. Some of the synonyms are model, example, scope, portion, scale, test, pattern, and gauge.

So, how do you measure a woman?

*by how tall she is?
*by the size of her brain?
*by the size of her gloves?
*by the size of her shoes?

Well, yes and no. We, as Christians, usually use Proverbs 31 as the standard against which a woman (or wife) is measured; her worth being far above rubies, so it says.

But how do you measure that?

*By the love for her in the eyes of her family and friends, you can measure how tall she is.
*By the scope of her thoughts, words, and prayers, you can measure the size of her brain.
*By the extent of her giving and doing for others, you can measure the size of her gloves.
*By where and how she walks, you can measure the size of her shoes.

I guess if we went by that, a valuable woman would then be very tall, have a very large head, and have large hands and feet. Well, I know that sounds silly. But not if you apply it spiritually.

I love this quote, “The measure of a woman’s character is not what she gets from her ancestors, but what she leaves her descendents.” ~ unknown

So, how large am I, spiritually that is? How do I measure up to all this? How do I leave my daughter and my sons those values and character that I desire them to have? How do I make my husband and family proud of me and not bring shame to them? How am I an example to others?

To be and do all that is necessary, my life must mirror one pattern, one example, one standard…Jesus!

Other than the character traits of Proverbs 31, Paul listed several other traits in his letter to Titus, “The older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things - that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.” (Titus 2:3-5 NKJV)

All this, plus grace, strength, and faith, was passed on to me by my mother and my grandmother…so what am I leaving to my children? How do they see me? How do others see me? How am I being measured?

What are you passing on to your children? How do others measure you?

photo by joshuaBENTLEY at flickr.com
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Matt. 5:3 NKJV
This is the first of the beatitude series...

The poor in spirit…

What does ‘poor in spirit’ mean? The word ‘poor’ in Greek means to crouch, a beggar (as cringing), pauper, asking alms, needy, and lacking in anything.

The one ‘poor in spirit’ is lowly in heart, convinced of his or her spiritual poverty and pleads as a beggar to God to be replenished.

One who is ‘poor in spirit’ has emptied himself or herself of all pride, selfishness, and ambition through humility, gratitude, and submission to God.

…are blessed…

‘Blessed’ in Greek means happy, supremely blest, fortunate, well off, and of that which is the highest good.

…for theirs is the kingdom of heaven…

The Greek word for ‘kingdom’ means royal power, kingship, dominion, rule, the territory subject to the rule of a king.

Without recognizing one’s lack of spirit, one cannot realize God’s fullness. Grace cannot be poured out to one oblivious of his or her necessity for it. The poor in spirit have the fulfillment of heaven’s kingdom dominion.

The poor in spirit are blessed with the kingdom’s abundance of riches. “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Matt. 6:33 NKJV)

Scripture tells us that we share in the God’s kingdom because we are His children, “For [God’s] Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are His children, we are His heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share His glory, we must also share His suffering.” (Rom. 8:16-17 NLT)

Are you poor in spirit? Then, shout because you are blessed. The riches of Christ are yours. The kingdom of heaven is yours. Hallelujah!