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.

The first time I went to Disney’s Animal Kingdom I was enthralled with the banners and flags that hung in the land of Asia. We finally asked about them and were told that in some Asian traditions, people would hang flags up with pictures of their prayer requests so the wind could carry their prayers to God (or god as the case may be). They also tied bells in the trees so they could hear their prayers going to God.

Now, I realize this is slightly un-Christian in that they were probably worshiping some made up god. But I just love the visual of putting your prayer requests out where YOU can see them. Not because God notices a giant flag and will act. No, because it reminds ME that God does answer prayers and that we can talk to Him at all times about anything.

Prayer bells and flags do seem slightly more outward than a real internal conversation-prayer that you have with God. More symbolic than spiritual. But you know what? God was (is) into symbolism. I’m reading a really great book right now called, Treasured by Leigh McLeroy. Each chapter is about an item in the Bible like the blood-stained wood above the Hebrew slaves’ doors, Hagar’s wineskin and Joseph’s colorful coat. The last chapter I read really inspired me to do this activity with the kids–it is  about a golden bell.

Really? A bell in the Bible? Sounds more Polar Express, doesn’t it?

God instructs the Israelites to fashion a tabernacle for him. He is specific in every detail–down to the lamp stands. He asks for his dwelling place to have gold, purple and scarlet thread, spices, silver, bronze and linen. It was going to be downright swanky! And when God got to the instructions for the priests’ clothing he didn’t spare any expense–or detail! He commanded that the robes would be richly embroidered with pomegranates and filled in with tiny golden bells. Imagine the priests (yes, the guys killing animals for sacrifice) decked out in embroidered clothes that jingled when they walked!

Leigh McLeroy calls God, “the God of Show and Tell” because of his attention to detail and beauty. The priests were to do this for Him–to show and tell of His greatness. Of course, when Jesus died on the cross and came back to life, He became our forever priest. (Hebrews 7:23-25) And He was the ultimate SHOW and TELL of God’s great love for us.

So, what does this have to do with some prayer banners? Well, I love the show-and-tell-ness of God. And I want to replicate that in our home–I want to SHOW off the greatness of God in our lives. That’s why I hang up scriptures everywhere in our house. And I want to TELL my children about the wonder and love He has for them. I want to make God known in our home!

Today, as we made our own prayer flags, we did them based on Philippians 4:6 CEV, “Don’t worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God.” We talked about the things that worry us–what we need God’s help with; the things we want to ask God to do and the things we want to thank him for. Then we painted a symbol of those requests on our flags. They are waiting to dry but I cannot wait for them to hang in our house—or maybe even outside in a tree!

This verse came from our first “letter A” activity based on Big Thoughts for Little Peopleby Kenneth Taylor. The poem says, “A is for asking. We ask when we pray. God is happy to answer and help us each day.” I love the idea that God is happy to help us. Wow!! God as OUR helper?! That’s a nice thought.

We made our flags out of felt. I just cut a basic 29cent piece of felt into quarters. Then we used some stencils and fabric paint to make our symbols.

Lydia made a flower with the letter A for Alizeta, our Compassion daughter. She asked that God would take care of her. I made a flag for Papa (my dad) because he has Hepatitis C and I want God to heal him. We made a hand print to remind Lydia and Asa they are best friends. A smiley face because Lydia wants to be a helper. And a heart for Daddy because he had to go to the doctor today. And several more that were thoughtful requests to big happy thankful thank yous!

I don’t know about my kids, but when I see these flags hanging up, I will be reminded of the amazing love God has for me–that He is willing to be MY helper. And that He has commanded me to offer up requests to Him!

The following is a guest post by my friend, Christine from iDreamofClean. Enjoy…

Although I blog about cleaning almost every day on iDreamofClean.net, a clean home is not what I’m most passionate about. Making sure I personally work on having a clean heart and teaching my son to do the same is my true passion! And, in my opinion, you can’t start teaching the Word of God to your child(ren) too early.

One of the ways I’ve been letting the word of God soak into my little guy’s heart is to “clothe” him with the Armor of God every day as he gets dressed. When he was just baby, it was as simple as saying the scripture out loud as I put on his diaper and onesie. But, now that he’s a toddler, it’s so much more fun!

How to Clothe Your Child with the Armor of God

BELT OF TRUTH

(¹⁴Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest,)

Since my little one is still in diapers, the “belt of truth” buckled around his waist is his diaper and his shorts/pants while the “armor around his chest” is his shirt.

SANDALS OF PEACE

( ¹⁵and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace.)

When my son was a baby, I’d just squeeze his feet and give a little tickle on the toes! But, since he now double-hearts putting on his shoes and removing them, there is ample opportunity to put on “Sandals of Peace” in our home!

SHIELD OF FAITH

(¹⁶In every situation take the shield of faith, and with it you will be able to extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one.)

Since he doesn’t usually carry around a shield (lol!) I just explain how warriors carry shields on their arm and block the arrows coming towards them. Warrior talk is perfect for little boys!

HELMET OF SALVATION

( ¹⁷Take the helmet of salvation…)

In the winter, using a hat signifies putting on the “helmet of salvation”. If we’re not going outside or if it’s a warmer time of the year, we just play make believe and pretend we’re putting on a helmet.

SWORD OF THE SPIRIT

(…and the sword of the Spirit, which is God’s Word.)

When talking about the sword of the Spirit, we often play a little make believe again, but I also reference it when reading out of the Bible. I’ve tried to make it a habit to read to him from the “real” Bible while having breakfast and then we also read from the Children’s Storybook Bible during another part of the day. There’s plenty of opportunity to use the “sword” throughout the day!

PRAY IN THE SPIRIT

(¹⁸And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.)

We say a prayer and get our day started!

You don’t necessarily have to say the exact wording of the Armor of God when clothing your child (but it sure is a great way for you and your child(ren) to memorize a chunk of scripture!). In our home, we often just hit the high points. But we also mention the individual parts of the Armor of God throughout the day when it’s a natural fit.

The Word of God really is applicable to every aspect of our lives and clothing them in the Armor of God is just one way to “Impress” the word on their hearts.

What other scripture references can you discuss with your children as you do your daily activities?

Christine loves Jesus, her husband and her son…but she doesn’t love cleaning! That’s why she searches high and low to find the best tips and tricks to make the inevitable job of cleaning easier for moms. She shares tips like Clean Your Kitchen in 5 Minutes or Less and 10 Foolproof Ways to Reduce Clutter almost every day on iDreamofClean.net.