on October 14, 2010
Proverbs 3:5-12 – “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.
Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.
My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.”
Prayer Focus: Father In Heaven, I’m in awe when I think of the miracle of our children. They are a testament to creation and the awesome, loving Creator behind it. Life, embodied in an image that remarkably resembles their mother and me, totally amazes me! As I embrace the responsibilities of fatherhood, may my children find true wisdom, life, love and joy in the training and discipline that I give them. May they see a dad who trusts in the Lord with all his heart and seeks Your counsel in everything. I pray that they will establish the same trust and love for you early in life and lean on it all their days. Help them to learn, from my example, how to revere You and turn from evil, and may they receive the promised benefits of that lifestyle. Grant that they may recognize that I am honoring You, as I set aside tithes and offerings each week. Let them understand and practice giving of their firstfruits as well. May they come to recognize and appreciate the love that is behind the discipline and correction I must give to them. So, help me to train them up in the same discipline and nurture that You are transforming me by, until we all may look and act more like the Savior who has given Himself for us. I pray that the hearts of fathers everywhere will be turned toward their children, to pray for them, to train them and guide them into truth. I also pray that the hearts of the children will be turned toward their fathers in ways that obediently embrace their parenting and bring honor to Your plan for the family, so that they may become blameless and pure, children of God, in a crooked and depraved generation. May my parenting not lead them to bitterness or discouragement, but rather may I effectively deal with them by encouraging, comforting and urging them to live lives worthy of God, who calls them into His kingdom and glory. I pray that it may be my fatherly experience and joy to know that my children walk in truth all the days of their lives. Amen!
Thursday:
- Praise God for the gift of children and the rich potential God has created in their lives.
- Join our 6:00pm Thursday night prayer team (in prayer if not in person).
Friday:
- Thank God for the children in your life. Give thanks especially for the ways they are sacred and precious.
- Pray for the Good News families of the week: Matt & Becky Hakes (Stevie, ?), Ben & Kate Logan (Caleigh), Bill & Linda Logan (Andrew, Mark, Meg).
Saturday:
- Pray for the parents of our church and community to be agents of the Word, who instruct and train their children with it and lead their households by it.
Sunday:
- Pray for the children’s workers and teachers of our church and community, to be people of the Word, who gladly receive its discipline and guidance and effectively instruct the children from it.
Monday:
- Ask God to strengthen Christian families in a world that is hell bent on destroying them. Pray that children will love and honor their parents and that parents will train up their children (by word and example) in the way they should go.
Tuesday:
- Pray for those families that are in trouble, that they might have a revival of what is sacred and precious. Pray that they would come to a fresh reality of God’s purpose and plan for the family.
Wednesday:
- Ask God to help you remember that the family is God’s garden and workshop for training up each generation so that they might know and love Him and bless each other. May we always remember that the family that prays together, stays together.