Every night when the kids go to bed we pray with them. Most of the time it’s just us doing the praying. Sometimes Asa will whisper the prayer from his Bozdvd’s. But usually it’s a solo. So, I try to use this time to model how I want them to pray.

For example, when I picked Lydia up from school yesterday, she got in the car and said, “I got a strike.” Then she immediately started sobbing. Getting a strike is a bad thing in kindergarten. If you get 3 strikes, a note is sent home. Lydia was talking when she wasn’t supposed to and her teacher gave her the strike. She was devastated.

But it gave us some really good talking points. We got to talk about disobedience, picking the right friends (4 of them got a strike at once!), talking to Mommy, learning lessons and more. That night when we prayed I said something like, “God, thank you that Lydia told us right away about her strike. Help her remember what this feels like. Holy Spirit, I ask that you remind Lydia to be obedient at school and to help her stay self-controlled.” It was much better than me scolding her and it was a sincere prayer from a parent to Father God. It also modeled what her response should be from that situation.

I ended the prayer with what I pray every single night: “Lord, I pray Lydia would love you more and more every day.” It’s just a simple phrase. It’s not based on scripture. It’s nothing profound. But really, it is my true desire: that my kids wouldn’t just BE better or DO more, but that they would just LOVE Jesus more and more every day. (Do you know how many heartaches that would avoid? Problems that would keep them from?)

I don’t pray that little phrase because I think it’s a magic phrase that needs to be repeated in order to work (see my prayer post from Day 1!), I pray it because when Lydia and Asa do pray by themselves, I want them to pray the same thing, “O God! I want to love you more and more every day!” I want that prayer to be their desire.

It was my pastor who gave me the idea. He said he prays out loud the things he wants his kids to pray. And as the years went by, he began to hear his children pray the same thing he had been praying over them every night.

This modeling and repetition will get into their hearts and minds. And soon, it will come out of their mouths.

What can you start praying and speaking over your kids? So that one day they’ll say the same thing?

Resources for you:
How To Use Repetition as a Fun and Effective Tool To Teach Our Children by Kat from Inspired to Action.
Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. by Mandi from Cumming Local.

photo source: dawn camp

Here we go! Day 1! Ready?

A few months ago, I started praying for my husband every day. I specifically prayed for his job, his finances, his temptations and more. And the weirdest thing happened. I started to love him more. I don’t think he became a better man during this time.  For some reason, when I prayed for him, it affected me on the inside.

I clearly saw how much of a better wife I was when I prayed for him. And realized, “Whoa. What if I started specifically praying for my children every day? Maybe I’ll be a better mother, too!” So, I picked up Stormie Omartian’s famous book, The Power of a Praying Parent to help me pray.

Before I even got to the first prayer I began to cry because of this verse in the preface:

Arise, cry out in the night,
as the watches of the night begin;
pour out your heart like water
in the presence of the Lord.
Lift up your hands to him
for the lives of your children…

Lamentations 2:19

God wants me to pray for my children. He commands it. So, that’s what I’ve been doing. And sometimes it seems overwhelming. I pray for their protection from harm one day and think, “Ack! I need to pray this every day for the rest of their lives! If I don’t they might get in a car accident! Or break their leg! Or fall off the Empire State Building!” It feels like the prayers are some kind of magic words that bring the results we want!

But the more I’ve prayed, the more I see that’s not the case. Instead, (I think) God gave me a picture of what a parents’ prayers are like. Each prayer is a brick. A small brightly colored brick.

I might pray for my daughter to be self-controlled while at school. I see it as a small yellow brick laid down around her. The next day I pray she would be protected from harm. A completely different prayer, but still important. It might be a teal brick sitting right next to that yellow one.

And the more I pray, the more small colored bricks are being layered below and around her. Some as a foundation for her feet. Some as protection around her.

I can’t possibly hit every single thing that will come into her life. It’s not like if I forget to pray that she gets good grades, she’ll fail out of school and God will say, “Too bad. Shoulda prayed about that one!” No. I feel like all my little prayers will make this big foundation and wall that will ultimately protect her and keep her steady.

I heard in a sermon once that God is not moved by need. If he were, there would be no starving children, no rape, no miscarriage and no heartbreak. Instead, God is moved by prayer. And when we pray in line with His powerful, double-edged Word, He moves. My little prayers move God to do miracles in my children’s lives. Miracles that might take place in their heart when they are 30 years old, or with their best friend in 1st grade, or in their marriage, or when they are driving on a snowy road or on their first day on a college campus.

So today? The first day of our 31 days? Let’s pray.

Oh, God! I feel so small when I think about being a parent! I know it’s only by your leadership that I can do anything for my children! Thank you for the promise that you will confide in us when we fear you. (Psalm 25:14) As I pray for my children, please confide in me about their hearts, Your will for them and how I can help them know you more. Holy Spirit, remind me to take up the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit and prayer so I can stand firm against the enemy for my children’s hearts and lives. (Ephesians 6:10-23) Thank you for the honor of leading my children to You!

Here are some additional resources for you:
The Power of a Praying Parent by Stormie Omartian
Warrior Prayers by Brooke McGlothlin
Prayer Calendar from Inspired To Action
Impress Your Kids Facebook Page {I try to share a scripture & prayer for our kids each morning.}
Our best prayer posts: Prayer Box, Praying for Your Children, Host a Prayer Group To Pray For Your Children,  Ask, Seek, Knock, A is for Ask, Using God’s Word To Pray

How do you pray for your kids?

photo source: Kymberly Janisch

I was terrified to have a boy. I mean, I’m NOT a boy. I know nothing about boys. I’ve never been in a boy’s locker room, a boy’s birthday party or to a boy spend the night party. (Do boys even have spend the night parties?!) The whole time I was pregnant with Asa, I worried. I mean, what do I do? Will I be able to parent him? Will I know what to do and how to say it?

We named him Asa after the king in the Bible who prayed this prayer before a battle, “LORD, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. O LORD, you are our God; do not let man prevail against you.” 2 Chronicles 14:11

This verse became a mission-a prayer not just FROM King Asa but FOR our Asa. I pray this verse over him. I pray he recognizes he is powerless without God. I pray Asa relies on God in every situation. And that he is certain God will defeat temptation and problems in his life.

Praying scripture is really the only way I know how to pray for my son. It’s the only way I know I’m actually praying God’s will. It keeps me focused and specific. This one little scripture has helped me begin a journey of actually raising a man of God–even though I have no idea how to do so on my own.

Brooke McGlothlin {co-founder of the MOB Society} felt this same uncertainty I did and she did the same thing I did (only with more gusto!) and turned to God’s Word. Brooke has crafted an entire ebook called Warrior Prayers about praying scriptures over your son. And not just any scriptures–these are scriptures focused specifically at the things our boys need. With the intent of changing our sons’ hearts of stone into hearts of flesh, fully dependent on their Heavenly Father.

I read the book in one sitting. It’s divided into areas of prayer {fear, obedience, respect, honor, etc} and with each section is a page or more of scriptures like:

May __________ obey his leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over his soul, as those who will have to give an account. Let __________ do this with joy and not with groaning (Hebrews 13:17).

May __________ have a wise man’s heart inclining him to the right, and not a fool’s heart inclining to the left (Ecclesiastes 10:2)

May__________be blameless and innocent, a child of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation (Philippians 2:15)

Now, go back and insert your sons’ name in those blanks. Read them aloud. It’s breathtaking, isn’t it? And isn’t it what you want for your son?

I just love Brooke’s heart. She knows she doesn’t have it in her to lead her sons to be men of God. To be fathers and husbands that follow Him. But she knows the path—through prayer. And not just any prayer, but specific focused prayer based on God’s Word.

I highly recommend this book, you can read it quickly, then print it out to read and pray the scriptures over and over your sons {and hey–for your daughters, too!}. The book is only $5.97 and you can download it today! Once you’ve done this, you can join in 21 Days of Prayer for Sons–a challenge to pray 10 times a day for 21 days for our sons! WOW! Doesn’t that sound cool?

I know there are days I just look at Asa and have no idea what to do. I believe this 21 Days is going to open my heart to hear how God would have me lead and pray for my precious son.

Sound good? Brooke has generously offered to give one Warrior Prayers book away to one of you today!

Enter to Win Warrior Prayers (do one or all, leave a separate comment for each):

• Leave a comment. Who are the little boys in your life?
• Tweet it! Include @impressyourkids & link to this post http://bit.ly/warriorprayers
• Share on Facebook. It’s easy – just click the “Like” button at the bottom of this post!
• LIKE Impress Your Kids on facebook (see sidebar) or tell me that you already do.

Contest ends Friday March 11.

Disclosure: Brooke gave me this book for free. I asked to post about it.