Prayer is a gift from God. It is how we communicate with God and listen to Him. William Carey writes, "It is prayer, real, secret, fervent prayer that lies at the root of all godliness." Prayer is the central avenue through which God changes us. Richard Foster writes, "Prayer is what catapults us to the frontier of the spiritual life."Prayer is one of the major aspects of our walk with the Lord. But often we become so busy and don't spend the time in prayer that we know in our hearts should be an essential part of our lives.
The purpose of this article is not to tell you to pray but rather, to help you find more practical ways to implement the priority of prayer on a daily basis.
When Should We Pray
Each of us needs to find the best time to pray. For me, I am a very visual person. I like to write out my prayer requests. I respond well to visual reminders such as note cards, pictures and objects that remind me of items or people to pray for such as photograph, a liberty bell to remind me to pray for our country, and special items that remind me of different family members or friends. Some of my more auditory friends prefer to pray out loud, perhaps in their car. My kinesthetic friends find walking or exercising to be their best time for effective prayer.
For 35 years, my jobs required that I be “on duty” early in the morning. Therefore, I needed to get up really early in order to have a quality, quiet time. But frankly, I am not a morning person. Getting my kids and me to school early was about all I could handle. As I used to say, I may rise, but I don't shine... and I found that during that season of life, I often had my best quiet times at night after everyone had gone to sleep.
God does not care when or how we pray. He simply cares that we do pray.
What Should We Pray
Our hearts often feel burdened for the many things we want to pray for our children and students.
Years ago I made up a prayer card to guide me in my praying for my children and later made copies for the moms at school and church. I put mine in my Bible or prayer journal. You are welcome to make multiple copies of this to use as a prayer reminder. You may use the blank places to list character qualities, scripture verses, and other items of daily concern that you have for your child.
What Should We Pray for Our Children and Students
Here are just a few of the many items we can pray for our children and students. There is great power in praying the Word and inserting the child’s name.
For example, if you have a daughter who is struggling with gossip you may want to pray:
“I pray for _______ to know that without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down.” Proverbs 26:20
If you have a child who is having trouble forgiving someone, you may want to paraphrase Ephesians 4:32 as you pray:
“I pray for _________________ to be kind and compassionate to others, forgiving______________, just as Christ God has forgiven him/her.”
- To have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ
- Protection from the evil one
- Christ-like character
- Love the Word
- Hearts of service
- Discernment in relationships
- To 'get caught' if they do something wrong so it doesn't form a habit pattern for life.
- Determine to finish well.
How Should We Pray
We desire to have cleansed hearts before God as we come to pray for our children and students. This involves confession of sin on our part. I tell children that 1 John 1:9 is like the Christian bar of soap. We take a bath every day to wash our bodies, and we confess our sins each day to keep our spirit cleansed.
Then we simply talk to God. In the book, Cherishing and Challenging Our Children, I provide some specific techniques and examples. A simple one to teach children also serves as a reminder for adults. That is:
1.Wiggle our thumbs and say something in praise to Jesus. This is our J.
2.Wiggle your middle fingers for O for others and pray for others: family, friends, teachers, pastors, missionaries, etc.
3.Finally we wiggle our little finger for Y and Y is for you. We pray for ourselves last.
There is JOY when we remember to put Jesus first, and the needs of others next and finally, you.
I must confess that I have to remind myself of this simple method on a regular basis as my prayers begin to sound like a “To Do List for GOD. This system helps me to keep my priorities in focus.
National Day of Prayer
It’s wise to train our children and students to pray beyond their personal needs. One way is to be involved with the National Day of Prayer which is coming up on May 6. While every day should be a Day of Prayer for us, let us find special ways to honor this day in your home, work, church and/or community.
For more information on ways that you can be involved, visit the National Day of Prayer website. May I encourage you to take time to read Jim Daly’s letter about the forces coming against this very important day.
May God bless your prayer life as you grow and deepen your walk in Him.
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