Demonstration Leads To Imitation

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Recap of the parenting series.

In the first installment of this series titled, It Begins With You, we must get intentional in developing a relationship with Christ. Far too often, we allow things to clog our intakes. We cannot hear what God is saying to us. His Word and other believers communicate can speak life to us. God’s grace cannot flow through us to others if our relationship is not right with Him.

In the second installment, Air War and Ground War, I laid out the ground war attack plan against the enemy as given by Moses in Deuteronomy 6.

In the third installment, Discipline With Love and Grace, I resurfaced a method of discipline that my wife and I use called Gospel-Centered Discipline. It leads you and your children through repentance and forgiveness during the disciplining process.

Finally, the last post in this series is on praying for your children. What might that look like in your home?

I struggle to pray regularly much less, “pray without ceasing.”

Before each of my children took their first breath, they were prayed over by their mother and me. I wish I could tell you it was a daily thing we did together, but I’d be lying. I wish I could tell you each of them were great prayers filled with expectation and anticipation of what God would do with my children for His great name, but again, it would be stretching the truth.

Often I prayed, but I felt like I didn’t know what to say or how to do it. Or do it well. And so, my prayers were stagnating and rather blah. I would catch myself repeating the same prayers for them over and over again. I felt as if my prayers for them weren’t making a difference. I say all this because most of us struggle to pray regularly much less, “pray without ceasing” as Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians. Finding time to pray to God is another battle against the flesh-and, we must ask God to help us in this spiritual discipline.

Jesus demonstrated how to pray in the Sermon on the Mount. Many of us know the prayer: “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

Being human and finite, we don’t always know what’s best, so it makes sense to come before the God who brings order to chaos. Jesus modeled prayer for us to teach us to depend on God more than we depend on our own abilities.

Hope through endurance & encouragement.

My oldest son was born with an eye condition that resulted in multiple surgeries, doctor’s appointments, eye drops, contact lenses, glasses, and that doesn’t include all the typical baby stuff; you know the “keeping them alive part.” It was a rough start for a couple of first-time parents. But God, being rich in mercy, sent us His Spirit to comfort us in that challenging season.

It’s been an uphill battle with my son’s eye. Only God knows what the next prognosis is. I know the Holy Spirit will be there because He always has. He reminds me that my son is only in my care for a short time. God has been taking care of him since before He put the foundations of the earth into place.

God gives us endurance and encouragement as we seek to glorify Him with the people and things He has placed under our care. I remember one night at bedtime, praying for God to heal his eye or at least help it function properly. My son repeated in his own words the same prayer. He then proceeded to pray for God to heal his eye for a month. My demonstration of praying for God to heal his eye led to him imitating my prayers.

There is no better way to pray for your children than to take Scripture and insert their names in place of the “me’s and I’s.” These are God’s true and perfect words preserved to give us life. It can do the same for you and your children.

Here are a few prayers that you can begin praying over your children today:

Heavenly Father, I pray that the eyes of ________’s heart may be opened in order that ______ may know the hope to which God has called him, the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people, and His incomparably great power for _______ who believes. (Ephesians 1:18-19)

Teach ________ Your way, Lord, that ________ may rely on Your faithfulness; give ________ an undivided heart, that _______ may fear Your name. (Psalm 86:11)

Now to Him who is able to keep _______ from stumbling, and to make _______ stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. (Jude 24-25)

Make praying Scripture over your children a habit, and I promise it will change your life. I really recommend praying these prayers with them at night as you put them to bed.

As you demonstrate a posture of prayer to your children they will begin to imitate the same behavior. Each and every day you begin to depend on yourself less and God more.