Prayer and Parenting

 

When I was a children's leader at BSF one of the first tools we were given was the idea of praying both with/for a child who had poor behavior. The idea was that the leader would take the child outside of the class room, kneel down and explain calmly what the child had done. Then, the leader was to take the child's hand and pray for God's help both for the child to do __________ (Listen, play kindly, sit still) and also for the leader to _______(Show kindness, be patient etc)
Now, please know that this prayer was not prayed in the self righteous manner of those mentioned in Matthew 6
 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.  But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.  And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.  Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
  
The point of this prayer is to really and truly ask for God's leading and help. 
It is tempting  to look in every direction for assistance instead of God, when it comes to teaching children.  
So this brings me the crux of my post today. I learned to follow this method in BSF, but I was forgetting to do this very important thing at home. 

I would direct the children and try to lead my children in different directions but, I was forgetting the most important thing to do and that was to PRAY!  I was reminded when I read this passage in Philippians- 

Philippians 4:6-7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
It is funny how we spend  time worrying and fretting about growing Godly kids but,  forget where we best find the strength

 ~on our knees~  

 

As a Mom, I am working on getting down with them, looking them in the eye, and praying to God for wisdom in that specific character trait.  Also, asking for him to work on my own character and make it more like his own. I am impressed by the difference I see in my children and their reaction towards these attitudes.

My daughter recently threw her brother's shoe into a creek. As a consequence I told her to wade through the creek and get it back out. As she stepped into the water I heard her ask "God, give me the strength to get the shoe, help me God"
Though I was saddened by her carelessness with the shoe, I was excited to hear her ask God for help, As she got out she beamed "Mom, God gave me the strength to do it"
I want them to be aware of how close God is and that he is our accessible heavenly father. As God's children we need to communicate, praise, worship and ask for his help in areas where we need it.
I am so thankful for God's continued faithfulness even in the midst of my struggles in parenting.
Psalm 145:18
The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth.