EP 45: Our Best Parenting is Done by Prayer
Inside: Our best parenting is done by prayer. We can love and guide them, but only the Lord can change their hearts.
God’s Word reminds us in John 15:5, “apart from Me you can do nothing.” That has been such a continual reminder to my heart over the years. There are many things I can do without a dependence on Christ, but the reality is I have achieved nothing in God’s sight apart from Him.
This is so true in the raising of our children.
Our children are a gift from the Lord, a heritage and a reward (Psalm 127:3), and they are ever so precious to the Lord and to us. Caring for our children is an immeasurable responsibility, but as believers we are not left alone in it or left to fend for ourselves. We can cry out to the One who created them and the only One who can redeem them.
Listen to the Podcast (18 minutes) or read the post below (7 minutes):
We Can’t Change Their Hearts
Over the years, I’ve learned just how dependent I am on the Lord. I can’t parent on my own. Really, I can’t do anything on my own. As parents, we can love our children, teach them, and guide them, but we cannot change their hearts. Only the Lord can do that.
That truth should continually bring us to our knees in prayer, but many times we find ourselves thinking we can do this on our own. As a parent of now adult children, I can share that these are often the more difficult years. The decisions they face and the struggles they walk through carry a weight that can be hard to watch from the outside.
There are so many things in their lives that are outside of my control, and if I’m not careful my heart can go to worry and anxiousness. But again and again, the Lord brings me back to prayer. He reminds me to take those concerns to Him instead of trying to carry them in my own strength.
Bringing It All to the Lord
We’re reminded in Philippians 4:6–7 to bring everything to the Lord in prayer. I have seen in my own life how quickly my heart shifts when I do that. When I stop trying to manage what was never mine to control and instead entrust it to Him, there is a settling that comes from resting in His care.
God does a much better job of being God than I do.
As parents, we are called to love our children well, to speak truth into their lives, and to faithfully point them to the gospel. But we are not called to control their lives. There is a difference, and learning that difference has been an ongoing work in my own heart.
When our children are young, we have more direct influence over their daily lives. We are guiding, protecting, and helping them learn to make wise decisions based on God’s Word. But as they grow into their teen years and then into adulthood, that begins to change, and we feel more and more how much is truly in the Lord’s hands.
There are things we simply cannot control. Their salvation, the choices they make, the paths they take, the struggles they face. And yet, these are the very areas that drive us to prayer.
Living in Dependence on Him
Our dependence on the Lord begins with time in His Word. We need to know who He is and what He has said. When Jesus tells us to abide in Him, it is a call to remain close to Him, to bring our hearts before Him, and to trust Him in all things.
We also need the encouragement of other believers. The Lord has given us the gift of the church to walk alongside one another, to speak truth, to pray together, and to encourage one another. It is something we should not neglect.
Scripture also reminds us to come to the Lord like little children. Children come with simple trust. They speak what is on their hearts and depend on their parents for everything. As we grow older, we tend to rely more on ourselves, but the Lord calls us back to that place of dependence.
There is something so important about our children seeing that in us. Seeing that we need the Lord. Seeing that we go to Him. Seeing that we don’t have it all together but are trusting Him in the middle of it.
Praying for Our Children
One of the most helpful practices for me has been praying God’s Word for my children. It keeps my prayers rooted in truth and helps me stay focused on what matters most. It reminds me of the gospel and turns my eyes back to the Lord when I’m tempted to focus on everything around me.
There is no greater way to love our children than to intercede for them in prayer.
If your children are not believers, what better use of your time than to cry out to the Lord for their salvation. As their parents, we know them well. We know their struggles, the areas they wrestle in, and the decisions they face. Bringing those things before the Lord is one of the greatest ways we can care for them.
A Final Encouragement
I’ve seen in my own life how the moment I lift my anxious thoughts to the Lord, there is a shift in my heart. The situation may not change right away, but my trust is redirected to the One who is in control.
We are not left to do this on our own. The Lord is at work in ways we cannot see, and we can trust Him with our children.
If you need encouragement in this area, I talk more through this in this week’s episode, Our Best Parenting is Done by Prayer.
God does a much better job of being God than I do.The prayer below is from Setting Their Hope In God: Biblical Intercession for Your Children page 193:
“Prayer is bringing your helplessness to Jesus.”“Eternal God,
Let my precious children rejoice in the Word, through whom all things were made. May they seek life only in Him.
Praise be to Your name for causing them to receive Him and believe on His name, for giving them the right to become Your children. Open their eyes to the glory of the Word, the glory of Your only Son, full of grace and truth. From His fullness let them receive grace upon grace–the grace and truth that come through Jesus Christ. Help them to do what is true and come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been carried out in You.
Help them not to judge by appearances, but instead to judge with right judgment. And when they thirst, let them go to Christ and drink. Let them follow closely after Him always, so that they will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. Make them abide in His Word as true disciples so that they may know the truth and be set free by it (John 1 & 8).”
Scripture References:
- John 15:5
- Philippians 4:6-7
- Romans 8:28
- John 5:19
- John 5:30
- Luke 5:16
- Matthew 18:3
- Mark 10:14-15
- Luke 10:21
Resources:
- Praying God’s Word Over Our Children
- Podcast Ep 23: Seasons of Waiting
- A Praying Life: Connecting With God in a Distracting World by Paul Miller
- Setting Their Hope in God: Biblical Intercession for Your Children by Andrew Case
- Praying the Bible by Donald S. Whitney
- Prayers of an Excellent Wife: Intercession for Him by Andrew Case
- Five Psalms Prayer App
- PrayerMate App
Thank you for receiving, me ! I am happy to now, I will have, you in daily; in your new’s letter daily! The Lord bless you! And keep the good work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!