If our children were perfect, our prayer life would be lame. Ponder the thought. Kids keep you on your knees. I think I am having a post-Mother's Day melancholy moment.
Sure, we influence our kids. We do our best to provide a good home, to nurture, teach, train and instill good values, work ethic and spiritual bearings. We spend years giving them opportunities to play sports, piano, dance, gymnastics, guitar, voice or whatever hobby suits them. We help them succeed in school, youth group and in social settings. Are we doing or have we done enough? Are we doing a good job as a mother? We wonder.
Every now and then we get a glimpse that something we have imparted has taken root in them. Other days, we wonder if our children have ears, eyes or brains! Moms — face it — our role is huge, yet at some point these kids of ours grow up and our season of intense influence fades a bit. I hate that thought. We hope we are giving them the tools to succeed in life and godliness. Are there things that we'd do differently? Sure. Is there anything else we can do? Yes.
You can pray! Hannah, from the Bible made a statement every mother can relate to. "For this child, I prayed." Whether you've prayed to have children or simply prayed because you have children, if you're a mom, "for this child, you have prayed"!
The older my kids get, the more I find that my greatest place of influence is on my knees. When my teenagers don't think mom knows the score, I can talk to God about my teenagers. When my 16-year-old daughter got her license and experienced her first year of winter driving, I could talk to the Lord about His big angels protecting her.
When my twelve year old son is going through puberty, I can talk to God and ask for His insight for my husband and me. When my 10-year old son is afraid of a bully at school, I can talk to the Lord about how to help him. When we're so mad at our kids we could spit, we need to pray. When we're so proud of our kids we could burst, we can pray. When they're hurt or in trouble, we can pray. When their potential is huge and their dreams are big, we can pray. When they are apathetic and lack motivation, we can pray. No matter how you slice it, "For this child, I prayed."
If you're looking for some help in praying for your kids, find a prayer group through your school or church, search the Internet or your local bookstore for lots of great books on how to pray for your kids, find another mom and start praying for each other's kids or check out more articles on this site, where I have posted a few articles on helpful ways to pray.
Ultimately, these kids of ours grow up, drive cars, make decisions, go to college, move away from home, start their lives and their families.
We can still pray ...
Beth
