This blog is no longer active, although feel free to visit the archives of past blogs while you are here.

There is a new webiste for parents at  

www.special-heart.com

that I think you will be interested in

Thanks for coming by, and I hope to “see” you at the new site!

Bev Linder

It’s easy for us, even Your children,  to be consumed with thoughts of self, goals only for self, desire for self gratification.  Yet it is always Your desire to turn our hearts outward and to love our neighbor as ourselves ( Leviticus 19:18).

I first pray for myself as a parent that I could be an example of praying for others, caring for others, taking time for others. I need Your help and the power of Your Spirit to first get my eyes off of myself and onto the needs of others before I can encourage my children to do the same.  Help me this very day to do practical things that will minister to others.

I pray for (names of children) that they would grow in having a heart that is aware of the needs and feelings of others.  I pray that they would learn from Your own heart, Lord, and would grow toward the goal of “counting others as more important than themselves,” as Jesus gave us example when He walked this earth ( Philippians 2:4-8).  I ask specifically that You would encourage them to show otherness in (specific area of child’s life).

…remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive”  (Acts 20:35).

I find you so close to me right here, dear Lord. Surrounded by the dirt and scattered clothing of my family, I find this an ideal spot to pray with you. No one comes near here so it is quiet, and it gives me a chance to reflect on the many blessings of my life.As I pick up their clothing and sort it, I ask you to give each of them what is needed most in their lives.

I fill the washer with my husband’s shirts and socks, and ask that you bless him as he wears them to work each day. Give him the grace to see that his work is holy and open his eyes to see the sacredness of each moment of life.

As I sort the tiny socks or the overalls of the children, I smile and remember how blessed I am to have them in my life.

I sort the larger teenage clothing and wonder at how fast these clothes have become larger sizes – and how quickly children grow up. I ask your help as I guide them through each new phase of their lives.

Give me a love that is endless, a heart that forgives them and the humility to ask for their forgiveness when that is right. Help me keep them from danger, and help me to let go and trust you when it is time to do that.

I try so hard to be perfect but lead me to remember that it is here in the smudged, disorganized and disheveled part of life that I find you the nearest.

Thank you, dearest Lord, for so much grace in my life!

Courage in your people is something that pleases You.  You command your people to be courageous (Deuteronomy chapter 31) for courage gives the strength needed to do the right thing.

I pray for my children that they will have the courage to stand up to peer pressure and to look to you for their standard.  I pray that they will have courage to “do the next thing” even when they feel tired or depressed.  I ask that you would fill their hearts with strength when they feel like rejecting Christian values for the easier way.

Please make my children “strong and courageous,” knowing that the Lord their God is with them, and will not forsake them.

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go  (Joshua 1:9).

How you understand a parent’s heart!  You long to be close to your children; you desire that we obey you; you want the best for each of your children—“therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you, and therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you”  (Is.30:18).

These are the things that are on my heart about my own children. Father, I pray that my husband and I will provide an atmosphere of unconditional love so that (names of children) will draw close to us as parents.

I pray that (names of children) will have a heart to obey their parents and will not be deceived into thinking that we are trying to ruin their fun and limit their happiness.

I pray that our children will receive the blessing of having a right relationship with parents, “that it may be well with them and that they may live long on the earth” (Eph 6:3).

Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.  Indeed, they are a graceful wreath to your head, and ornaments about your neck.

(Proverbs 1:8-9)

My children’s siblings will likely be part of their lives much longer than their parents will be.  What a joy it would be for them to have life-long friends in siblings.

From the beginning of time, brothers have been fighting (Genesis 4; Genesis 27) and sisters have been jealous of each other (Genesis 30).  This is not Your good will, Father.  I pray that You will place in (children’s names)  hearts a true and committed love for each other—one that will last for all of their lives.  Help them to see the good qualities of their siblings and to appreciate what a gift they have in them.  I specifically pray that they will resolve their conflict in (specific area of conflict).

Please give me wisdom, Lord, in encouraging my children to be best friends with each other—not trying to force it, but gently moving my children in that direction as often as I can.

How good and pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity (Psalm 133:1)

Your Word says that we are to be “sober” and on the alert for our Enemy prowls about like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour (I Peter 5:8). Those are frightening words to a parent, Father.  But I am encouraged by Your Word which says that our Enemy can be resisted and will flee from those who do resist him (James 4:7).

Lord, I lift up my child, (child’s name), to you and ask you to teach his/her heart to put on the armor that you have provided to resist in the spiritual battle (Eph. 6:10-17).  Make him/her aware of the spiritual world, not in a way that frightens him/her, but in a way that makes him/her alert to the wiles of the Enemy.  Give (child’s name) a hunger to be in Your Word each day, for Your Word is related to every piece of our armor listed in Ephesians chapter 6.

I depend on You alone to protect my child, and I praise You that You are able.

You are from God, little children, and have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world  (I John 4:4).

You have made my child with a wonderful purpose in mind.  You have gifted him/her in unique ways to show Your glory to the the world.

I ask that Your purposes in my child’s life will not be thwarted by bad influences, or by people/friends who desire to lure him/her toward evil.

Please make (child’s name) strong in faith, and able to discern what is good, and what is not.  Give him/her the wisdom to know that You are wanting to bless, not to restrict.

God, You are able to guide (child’s name) in paths of righteousness for Your name’s sake (Psalm 23:3).  Please bring people and friends into my child’s life who will be a living picture of what it looks like to walk in wisdom, and save him/her from the harm of being the companion of fools.

He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm (Proverbs 13:20).

Only You are able to completely protect my child from physical harm.  I can do my part, but Your Word says, “unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain” (ps.127:1). You alone can be with my child day and night and offer constant protection.

I ask that You would protect (name of child) from injury, disease, illness, and any other harm.  Where there are existing physical problems, I pray that You would lead us to solutions, cures, and wise counsel to help.

If You allow a physical problem for a time, help me to know that You are still in control, that You care, and that You will answer my prayer at the best time and in the best way.

The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand.  The sun will not smite you by day, nor the moon by night.  The Lord will protect you from all evil… (Pslam 121:5-6)

Thank you that You have given us a glimpse into Your own heart in the story of the prodigal son (Luke 5:11-32).  You have also shown us to wait and to never give up when our children go astray.

I pray for (name of child), that You would use every experience in his/her life to remind him/her that Your way is the best way.  I ask that every minute of every hour of every day, You will remind, draw close, and give my child a very real sense of your presence.

Please let (name of child) find the things of the world that lure him/her from You to be like swine food (v.16)—unsatisfying, unappealing, and a reminder of the “feast” that awaits him/her when he/she returns to You.

Help me to be faithful to cover this child in prayer day and night.

While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. (v.20)