Prayer Prompt #52: Mama, Did You Know?

Mary, did you know that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?

Mary, did you know that your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand?

Mama, did you know that God has miracles for your baby to do, too?

Mama, did you know that Mary’s baby boy - Jesus, the Savior - proclaimed this: “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”  John 14:12 (NIV)

Mama . . . did you know that He was speaking of your baby?

And mama . . . did you know that that He was also speaking of you?

Dear LORD, may our babies carry on the work that Mary’s baby boy started.  May the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame leap, and the dumb speak the praises of the Lamb. Make us the moms whose prayers will undergird our babies’ lives of faith as they do “even greater things than these”. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Prayer Prompt #51: Are You Parenting as a Fool?

A fool vents all his feelings, but a wise man holds them back.

Proverbs 29:11

This is me disciplining on a good day:

“Please remember: we don’t stand on tables.”

And here’s me disciplining on a bad day:
“GET OFF THE TABLE!!! I’ve told you a hundred times to use the furniture properly! I’m sick and tired of telling you this over and over and over again, and if you keep it up, there won’t BE any tables left in this house for you to climb on because I’ll get rid of ALL of them!”

Ugh . . . I’m never proud of those moments! But we’ve all been there, and can probably agree that rather than training our children to stop standing on the table, we’ve actually just trained them to respond to us in kind!

Perhaps that’s why the Bible says this kind of emotional venting is foolish: the fruit it produces is not the type we want to bear!

Dear LORD, help me set a guard over my mouth and keep watch over the door of my lips (Psalm 141:3).  Help me exercise self control and restraint when I’m tempted to “vent all my feelings” at my children.  Give me words filled with wisdom to correct what needs correction without inserting my own wild emotions.  Help me teach my children good patterns of speech by how I speak to them. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Prayer Prompt #50: Made in His Image

So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

Genesis 1:27 (NIV)

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV)

“You look just like me!”  I’m still in awe to have a little person that so closely resembles me.  Sometimes I gaze at my children and am filled with wonder at how God made their features to look like me and my husband. The resemblance is beautiful, signifying belonging and connection to one’s parents.

I want to look like my Heavenly Father. I hope that when people see me, they catch a glimpse of His character.

Dear LORD, You made my children to resemble me, just as you intend Your children to resemble You.  Transform me more and more into Your image with ever-increasing glory. May my character resemble Yours in all I say and do and think in my heart. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Prayer Prompt #49: Are You a Coach or an Umpire?

Don't use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.

Ephesians 4:29 (NLT)

Sometimes I discipline my child like I’m his umpire: “Strike three, you are OUT!”  Such discipline is divisive: it’s mom vs. child.

But a family is a team, so we ought to work together, not against one another, for everyone’s benefit.  Instead of umpire, I ought to be my child’s coach and work with him to overcome any weaknesses.

Dear LORD, it’s too easy to fall into a pattern of being an umpire of my child instead of a coach.  Help me establish patterns of behavior and speech that communicate to my child that I am on his team, that I am for him and not against him. Give me words that encourage and help him, not condemn him with parental anger. In Jesus’ name, amen.