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May
2008
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- Dear Precious
Parent:
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- A very blessed
Mother's Day to
you this month. The Bible says that being a Mom is a gift
from the Lord. Well, actually, what the Bible says in
Psalm 127:3 is, "CHILDREN are a gift from the Lord."
But I do have to
admit being a Mom is a great blessing from the Lord and
one of the greatest gifts from God I have ever been
entrusted with.
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- Recently I was
thinking back to when Rex and Luke were little boys (now
at 32 and 28 years old, they are men). As I thought about
the things that Gary and I did in raising our sons, I
think the most significant thing we did was just praying
together as a family. In addition, each night before they
went to sleep I would pray with the boys. Some nights we
missed; but, for the most part, we did pray together
nightly. When the boys were younger, prayer time was a
couple minutes long and usually the prayers were simple,
"God bless Mommy, God bless Daddy, and God bless Spot"
(that really was our dog's name and, yes, she really did
have spots). Prayer time was always a wonderful time,
too--just to talk. Talk about their day. Talk about
what's up. Just talk. The time we spent together, just
talking, laid a foundation for our relationships that not
only continued through their teen years, but continues to
this day.
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- Anyway, when Rex was
12 and Luke was 8, they got their own bedrooms. This led
to a change in our prayer time, and I began praying with
each boy individually. This worked out really great,
especially with their age difference. As you can imagine
the conversation and topics that came up with my 8 year
old, were quite different then the subjects my 12 year
old brought up. Having the individual, one-on-one time
together, facilitated great conversations. And no subject
was off limits. At times I was totally shocked by the
subject matter brought up, I mean totally shocked, but I
tried my best not to show it.
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- I thank God for these
precious memories of talking and praying with my boys.
They are truly priceless memories for me. Yet, I can't
help but think about the God who loves them and bought
them with the blood of His dear Son, Jesus. I wonder what
His thoughts are? I can almost hear Him whisper in my
heart, "I remember the precious prayers of Rex and Luke.
What a thrill each time they came to Me on bended knee or
while sitting on their beds. I listened, I answered, and
I saw their faith grow; and I saw their love for Me grow,
too. The time we spent together when they were little
boys, when they were in junior high and high school was
great. And, they still come to me today--and it is still
great!"
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- Precious parent, I
shared in the opening paragraph, "The time we spent
together, just talking, laid a foundation for our
relationships that not only continued through their teen
years, but continues to this day." Now I realize that it
did more than that--it also laid a foundation for a
relationship, an eternal relationship for Rex and Luke to
have with their God!
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- You have
heard it said, "The family that prays together, stays
together";
- I say,
"The family that prays together, stays together FOR
ETERNITY!"
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- Keep praying for
your children, no matter how young or old they are.
Use the Scripture
Prayer Calendar below during your devotional time and see
God answer. Our prayers are powerful. In James 5:16b we read,
"The prayer of
a righteous person (mom and dad) is powerful and effective." PAH!
- I encourage you as
you pray with your children--it IS making a difference in
their lives for all eternity!
- Love,
- Rhonda
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- Below is the
Prayer Calendar
for this month. Look up these scripture references and pray them
over your children.
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"All the days planned for me were written in Your Book before I was one day
old."
Psalm 139:16
Below are 31 Biblical
Virtues that we want to see developed in our children. Join with me
and use the 31 Powerful Ways to PRAY
for Your Children* below. There is one Virtue for everyday of
the month. For example if today is the 1st day of the month pray #1.
If today is the 15th then pray #15.
- One
reminder--YOUR PRAYERS ARE
POWERFUL AND EFFECTIVE
31 Powerful Ways to PRAY
for Your Children*
1. Salvation.
"Lord, let salvation spring up within my
children, that they receive the salvation that is in Christ Jesus,
with eternal glory" (Is. 45:8, 2 Tim.
2:10).
2. Grow in Grace. "I pray my children grow in grace and knowledge of
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Pet.
3:18).
3. Love. "Lord, may my children learn to live a life of love,
through the Spirit living in them" (Gal.
5:25, Eph. 5:2).
4. Honesty and
Integrity. "May integrity and honesty be
my children's virtue and their protection"
(Ps. 25:21).
5. Self-control. "Father, help my children not to be like many others
around them, but let them be alert and self-controlled in all they
do" (I Thess. 5:6).
6. Love God's Word. "May my children find Your Word more precious than
gold and sweeter than honey"
(Ps.19:10).
7. Justice. "God, help my children to love justice as You do and
act justly in all they do" (Ps. 11:7, Mic.
6:8).
8. Mercy. "May my children always be merciful, just as their
Father is merciful" (Lu. 6:36).
9. Respect (for self, others,
authority). "Father, grant that my
children show proper respect to everyone, as Your Word
commands" (1 Pet. 2:17).
10. Biblical self-esteem.
"Help my children develop a strong
self-esteem that is rooted in the truth that they are God's
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus"
(Eph. 2:10).
11. Faithfulness. "Let love and faithfulness never leave my children,
may they wear them like a necklace, write love and faithfulness deep
within their hearts" (Prov. 3:3).
12. Courage. "May my children always be strong and courageous in
their character and in their actions" (Dt.
31:6).
13. Purity. "Create in them a pure heart, O God, and let that
purity of heart be shown in their actions"
(Ps. 51:10).
14. Kindness. "Lord, may my children always try to be kind to each
other and to everyone else" (I Thess.
6:18-19).
15. Generosity. "Grant that my children may be generous and willing
to share, and so lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation
for the coming age" (1 Tim.
6:18-19).
16. Peace-loving. "Father, let my children make every effort to do what
leads to peace" (Rom. 14:19).
17. Joy. "May my children be filled with the joy given by the
Holy Spirit" (1 Thess. 1:6).
18. Perseverance (not give up).
"Lord, teach my children perseverance
in all they do, help them especially to run with perseverance the
race marked out for them" (Heb
12:1).
19. Humility. "God, please develop in my children gentleness and
true humility toward all people" (Titus
3:2).
20. Compassion. "Lord, please clothe my children with compassion,
may they truly care for people" (Col.
3:12).
21. Responsible. "God, help my children be responsible, may they
learn what they should do and do it" (Gal
6:5).
22. Contentment. "Father, teach my children the secret of being
content in any and every situation, through Jesus who gives them
strength" (Phil. 4:12-13).
23. Faith. "I pray that faith will find root and grow in my
children's hearts, that they live a life of faith, so they please
their Father" (Lk. 17:5-6, Heb.
11:1-40).
24. Servant's
Heart. "God, please help my children
develop servants' hearts, that they serve with their whole heart, as
they serve the Lord and not men" (Eph.
6:7).
25. Hope. "May the God of hope grant that my children overflow
with hope by the Holy Spirit's power" (Rom. 15:13).
26. Willingness and Ability to
Work. "Teach my children, Lord, to value
work and to work hard and cheerfully, as working for the Lord, not
for men" (Col. 3:23).
27. Passion for
God. "Lord, please give my children a
soul that follows You close ('follows hard after You'--KJV), a heart
that clings passionately to you" (Ps.
63:8).
28.
Self-discipline. "Father, I pray my
children be disciplined and do what is right and just and
fair" (Prov. 1:3).
29. Pray. "Grant, Lord, that my children's lives be consistent
in prayer, that they learn to pray in the Spirit on all occasions
with all kinds of prayers and requests"
(Eph 6:18).
30. Thankful. "Help my children live lives that are always
overflowing with thankfulness and always giving thanks to God the
Father for everything, in the Name of our Lord Jesus
Christ" (Eph. 5:20, Col. 2:7).
31. Heart for
Missions. "Lord, please help my children
develop a desire to see Your glory, Your Name, Your marvelous deeds
declared among the nations, (especially the Deaf Nation all over the
world" (Ps. 96:3).
- If you would like
to receive the FREE
Prayer Calendar
each month and/or
- you want
the FREE 31
Powerful Ways to PRAY
Bookmark
- E-mail TODAY and we
will send it to you right away. Click below
- *Adapted from "31 Biblical Virtues to Pray for Your
Kids" by Bob Hostetler.
- He's author of the award winning Don't Check Your
Brains at the Door (co-authored with Josh McDowell) and
They Call Me A.W.O.L.
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