Mamas, Pray for Your Children!



Here are a few stories about Riley Grace from the past two weeks that will set the tone for a lesson on prayer!

#1
Riley Grace’s teacher’s grandfather recently passed away, and Riley Grace was really struck by this event. She told me that she remembered when her grandmother passed away last year, and she didn’t want her teacher to be sad like she was. She decided to make her teacher a card and buy her some flowers! Riley Grace was explaining to me that her teacher didn’t need to be sad because her grandfather was in heaven. This spurred on a conversation about how we weren’t sure that he is in heaven because we weren’t aware of her teacher and her teacher’s family’s spiritual beliefs. We talked about how people who don’t believe in Jesus do not spend eternity with Him in heaven. What she took away from that conversation was the need to confirm that her teacher believed in Jesus. The following day, without my knowledge, Riley Grace asked her teacher if she believed in Jesus because she wanted to know if she would go to Heaven! She cared about where her teacher would spend eternity! Her teacher later relayed the story to me. 

#2
At the past two preschools Riley Grace and I have been at, we have had numerous Muslim friends/students. One family in particular has captured Riley Grace’s heart in her nighttime prayers. She asks to pray for this family many nights of the week and her specific reasoning is because they don’t know about Jesus. One evening, she announced that she was going to give each Muslim friend in this family one of her Bibles. This led to a conversation about how we would need to talk to their parents first because they may not want their kids to have a Bible. We talked about how they believe something different than the Bible and that they have another book about what they believe. She then very candidly concluded that their book was a “Lie Book,” since it’s not about the one true God like our Bible! (It’s so funny and refreshing how she sees things so black-and-white! The Lie Book vs. the Truth Book!) Anyways, we concluded this conversation by praying that these particular friends would be able to have a Bible one day. The next day, again not to my knowledge, Riley Grace asked the Muslim friends’ mother (who works at our school) if she could give them each a Bible! I was talking to this fellow teacher today about Riley Grace’s prayers for them, and she informed me that Riley Grace asked her if she could give her kids a Bible last week! 

These stories bring joy, gratitude, and passion to my heart, and here’s why!

A few weeks before Riley Grace was born, our pastor encouraged us to commit to praying for her every night of her life. He shared how he and his wife pray over their children each night and count it a high and significant calling as parents. This calling really struck me, and the Lord burdened my heart to be a prayer warrior for Riley Grace. Each night since she was a baby, I have prayed that Riley Grace would have the gift of evangelism and that she would have a joyful spirit. While I know Riley Grace is not a follower of Christ (yet!), I believe that God is starting to answer these prayers even as she is so bold in her childlike understanding of following Jesus. As much as she can understand, she believes that the Bible is true, that God is the one true God, and that believing in Jesus is very important. She also is concerned about whether or not her friends know about Jesus. Even her five-year-old mind and heart is being stirred for the things of God! I firmly believe that this is a direct answer to my continual prayers for her that she would be bold in her faith.

Many times the Lord doesn’t allow us to see the fruit of things that we have passionately prayed for, but sometimes He does, and I am so thankful that He has allowed me to watch Riley Grace grow and learn and “evangelize!” Watching her be unapologetically bold about the things she’s learned about Jesus encourages me to pray all the more fervently for her because I can only imagine what God can do through her witness!

I hope this encourages you to pray for your children – big and small! And if you don’t have children, pray for the children of your loved ones! God can do mighty things through the prayers of His saints, and He is yearning for us to be the prayer warriors that can bring down His will on earth!

APPLICATION
-       READ: 1 John 5:14 – “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”
-       EVALUATE: How faithful are you in praying for your children? When you pray for them, do you only pray for earthly needs, worries, provisions, etc. or do you also focus on spiritual gifts, salvation, and spiritual growth? Are their other children in your life that you can bring before God in prayer?
-       APPLY: Faithfully commit to pray for your children each night before they go to sleep. Find Scriptures that portray godly characteristics that you desire for them. Trust that God desires to answer these prayers, and be diligent! You are a prayer warrior for your children, and it is your high calling to fall on your knees before the Lord and beg for their salvation and lifelong commitment to serving Christ!
-       PRAY: Ask the Lord for the salvation of your children. Ask Him to remind you daily of the importance of these prayers! Ask Him to show you the fruit of your prayers in your children’s lives!  

Always, Jacquelyn

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