Most of know that Job of the Old Testament was, to quote the Bible, “perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.” If you read a bit further in the first chapter, you’ll find out about his possessions as well as his ten children.
In verse five, we see the heart of a loving, Godly parent: “….Job sent and sanctified them [his sons and daughters], and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, ‘It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.’ Thus did Job continually.” Job considered the spiritual condition of his children and did all that he could as their father to make sure they were right with God.
While neither you nor I will be sacrificing burnt offerings for our children today, I’d like us to consider one of the greatest things that we can do for our children. In the spirit of this verse, I believe it is to pray for our children.
These souls that have been given into our care need our prayers every day. Safety, protection, a heart that is receptive to God’s Word, and good health are lifelong prayers.
Some requests pertain to certain seasons of their lives. There are times when they just need to learn to obey or to live peaceably with their siblings. As they become more independent and spend a part of their day away from us, we begin to ask for them to have wisdom to make right choices.
When an emotional hurt from friends or peers occurs, we can beg God for comfort on their behalf. A stage of fearfulness or an illness bring about more opportunities to intercede for them. Beginning to pray while they are young for their life’s mate (should that be in God’s plan), as well as purity in all their relationships, helps us realize the importance of allowing God to lead them. Asking Him to help them find His calling for their life is yet another area in which we can ask God to work.
I am blessed to have parents, brothers and a sister that I know uphold my children in prayer. I am confident that teachers, church family and others may mention their names in prayer as well. But as their mother, what a privilege I have to continually bring them before the throne of God, asking His blessing and laying my petitions for them at His feet, that He might work in these children for His ultimate glory.
Yes yes!! What a privilege we have to be called mother…and what a privilege that we can so boldly pray for them to our Creator! Thanks for this important reminder, Tracey! 🙂
Katie,
Ha – I was just over commenting on your post and clicked back to see that you were commenting here! Wondering if you've had your fill of snow for awhile…but your positive attitude and picnic with your kids were such an encouragement!
Hope you have a great day!
I'm so grateful for this post today, Tracey. This is an area I've really struggled with is remembering to pray for my kids. Yes, I utter the quick ones all the time, but to sit down and really pray. Thank you for the encouragement and reminder. I feel like I've been neglecting a very critical part of my role as their mother, and I'm looking forward to starting.
Hope to see you tomorrow..
Blessings,
Erin (It's Grace)
Erin,
I know for me, devoting time to prayer can often fall to the bottom of the list since it seems like there are more "urgent" things to do. This post is actually a reminder to myself of how important it is to pray for my children.
Blessings to you today as well!
Our preacher did an in dept study of Job last summer on Wednesday nights. I loved it! I learned SO much. I ask God to watch over my girls, protect them and let them know how much I love them every single night.
Tracey, thanks for stopping by! Your girls are lovely!! I appreciate the reminder to pray. It's truly our life-line! xoxo Lynn (amothersjournal.com)
Beth,
I must admit that I've been reading in Job for the last week or so and honestly can't always follow what's going on! There are definitely some wonderful verses in there, though. Just this morning, I marked chapter 23, verse 14, which says, "For He performeth the thing that is appointed for me…." It's so amazing to think that God has events in my life that are appointed just for me!
May God answer the prayers that you say for your girls!
What a great reminder to pray for our children! Thank you!
This is so important. I pray for my children continually and I also pray blessings over them when I pray with them in the evenings. Since my first was born and couldn't utter a word, I prayed aloud with her and over her. It IS such an honor. I, too, have prayed for Godly spouses and that they would be Godly spouses. I pray for current needs and blessings of the future and for their heart conditions. I, too, am grateful knowing others pray for me and my children as well – I especially know my grandmother does… name by name. I pray for her in the same way. What a blessing your post is.
Smiles, Cass
Oh, I completely agree! What amazes me is the timing of this post… I have been reading Job over the past couple weeks, and like I noticed you write in a comment above, I also find that there are parts of Job that I just DON'T understand! But I love what you have written here in this post, it is so true.
One way I remember to frequently pray for my children is to pray for them/over them in the dark beside their beds when I go in to kiss them and check on them while they sleep, right before I go to bed myself. We pray with the children etc when they go to bed, but I find it so special to see them lying there sleeping peacefully, and to be able to kneel right there beside them in the dark and commit their little lives to our great God, and to pray for all the things that trouble me about them and their lives. 🙂
P.S. Occasionally the children stir and wake while I am praying (I pray in a whispered voice), but I don't let that bother me – in fact I LIKE the fact that they hear me pray for them because it is my hope that they will learn from that… learn that prayer is important, and that we can pray anytime and also that it should become a habit. I hope hearing their mother pray for them becomes a cherished memory for them, too. BTW, the only way I know they're awake is because I hear a whispered "Amen" from them, and a little sweet smile on their face. 🙂
Cassidy,
It's so wonderful to hear how another mom prays for her children! Your family is truly blessed to have you – as well as others – holding them up in prayer.
Clara,
Thanks for sharing your loving heart for your children! Sometimes when I peek in on my sleeping children before I go to bed, I am overwhelmed by my blessings! I'm also a little saddened to see those long bodies lying under the covers; it seems like such a short time ago that they were much smaller! I, too, sometimes use those moments to pray for them.
I see praying for my children and my husband as my number one job. You conveyed that so well. Thank you.