The most important matter for which we must pray is our child’s salvation. Because of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus for our sins (John 3), our child could be born again at an early age, as was apparently true of Jeremiah and John the Baptist in their mothers’ wombs (Jeremiah 1:3, Luke 1:39-45). It is possible our child may not know or remember a day he or she did not know Jesus as his or her Lord and Savior.

Other children may not profess Jesus as their Lord and Savior and live as though He is until they are older. As parents, our responsibility is to pray the following for our children, persevering in our prayers as we anticipate seeing God’s work manifested in the fruit of their lives:

• salvation
• conviction and repentance of sin
• a heart of flesh and not of stone that is tender toward God
• public profession of faith: confessing Christ before men
• living witness that bears testimony of the Lordship of Christ

Too frequently, our prayers are general and lack careful thought or Biblical arguments. “Lord, bless Johnny and keep him safe today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.” There is nothing wrong with praying for God’s blessing on our son or daughter or asking God to protect him or her. However, our prayers often stop there. They lack specificity that should arise from our loving and careful observation of our children. They also lack our intentional and meditative consideration of the particular traits that are part of who our child is and is becoming. What are his or her struggles, strengths, and weaknesses? We need to be as dedicated to prayer as an attorney is to the case that he desires to win. As we earnestly come before our Heavenly Father, He helps us know what and how to pray for our children. We want to consider what He would say about our child and ourselves. As we pray with the Bible open before us God speaks to us through His Word. We will in this manner increase our knowledge of Him, ourselves and our children. Jesus knew firsthand the necessity of prayer. We need to know it as well.

We are promised in Proverbs 22:6: “if we train up a child in the way he should go, when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Chuck Swindoll’s interpretation of “in the way he should go” means more than training our children in spiritual virtues. It means discovering their particular calling or “bent.” What has God placed in our child’s personality? What are his or her abilities? What is the “bent” of his or her heart and mind reflecting his or her peculiar gifts? We as parents need to look for his or her “bent” and pray this into reality, so that when he or she grows older, he or she will answer God’s call and be used for His glory.

God has given us covenant promises concerning our home and our children. A covenant has two parts, blessings and curses. God tells us if we obey His precepts and keep His commandments, He will bless not only us but also our children. However, if we do not obey Him, not only we parents, but also our children and future generations, will be cursed instead of blessed. (Genesis 9:9, 17:7, 18:19, Deuteronomy 6, Psalm 103, Luke 1:50, 72-75, Acts 2:39, 1 Corinthians 7:14)

All parents have had fears about losing their children, as when walking in a crowded mall or their innocently wandering away from home. We have worried about accidents that might potentially affect them and sometimes fear their moving far away. This often arises because we fear that we will not see them or our grandchildren as much as we would like. From the time they are infants, we should pray for God’s will in their lives and that He would use them for His glory. That may mean that He will call them to be missionaries in a foreign country. It may mean that God will choose to call them home to heaven at a young age. In any case, we must remember that they are the Lord’s. Our prayers for them should reflect that truth. We must entrust our children back to God. They can be in no better hands.

It is never too early to begin praying for a godly spouse for your child, a life’s partner who would walk with him or her in the faith and be an encouragement to his or her growth in grace. If God has not called your son or daughter to be single, the most important human relationship he or she will have in life is the one in which Christ’s relationship with His bride, the Church, is to be reflected. Marriage is ideally a testimony of the way Christ loves us and sacrificed Himself for His people (Ephesians 5:21-33). Parents know personally how important the relationship of husband and wife is to every other relationship, and to the joy and fulfillment of life. Earnestly asking God to show your son or daughter the best tools of godly discernment in choosing a marriage partner is a critical element in seeking the righteousness of not only your “child” but also his or her children (Psalm 103:17-18). Our children and their children are a treasured object of God’s covenant promises to believing parents. We parents bear a vital responsibility in the development of our children’s discernment in the choosing of a life’s partner. This partner will be the father or mother of our grandchildren, as well as our “child’s” most intimate companion for his or her life. Our praying for this from conception onward will cause your heart and mind to be attuned at the appropriate times to those specific godly truths you can teach and exemplify in helping them grasp and treasure romance, marriage, and family.

By Glenda Anderson

If I were to categorize the biggest behavioral problems I see in teenagers today, there are seven: Anger, Apathy, Deceit, Depression, Disrespect, Laziness, and Rebellion. The latter, of course, is the core behavioral problem out of which all the others emanate. Satan rebelled against his Creator, and refused to submit to God’s ultimate authority. He rose up and asserted himself to wrestle God for control. Isaiah 14:14 describes his real motivations:

“You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high.’”

This is exactly what a problem child does: he/she stands defiantly against his/her parents and refuses to submit to their authority and in doing this, are trying to put himself/herself above their parents authority. When the parent fails to hold him/her accountable, the child takes over and begins to rule. It is at this point the family begins to disintegrate…and will continue to do so until the child is stopped or until the family is destroyed. Even in that scenario, what the child has learned is the power he/she is able to wield. Our only hope is for parents to wake up and take back their dominion to be THE AUTHORITY in the home. Parental control is a God-given responsibility. Our children have been entrusted to us to mold, to care for, to protect, and we are not taking those responsibilities seriously when we do not maintain order in the home. God tells us to “take the land” and “possess it.” What else could this “land” refer to except that which is ours…our families?