Chantal and I became quick friends during my family’s time in New England. I had accepted Christ as my savior at 10 years old at VBS, but she made Him Lord of her life as an adult. She was on the disciple-of-Jesus express train and I jumped on with all I had. We sharpened one another as iron sharpens iron in the Lord’s army as wives, mothers of little people, and weekday preschool teachers. One evening a week from 8-9pm we would call one another to share prayer requests and then pray our hearts out over the phone. At the top of our prayer lists were to become the Godly wives our Creator called us to be and that our children, all under 7 years old at the time, would love the Lord with all their hearts, souls, and minds at an early age. We fasted one day each week for God’s call on the lives of our children, even to pray for their future spouses. Yet even with all of our intentionality I felt limited in my prayer vocabulary, until I picked up a copy of Stormie Omartian’s The Power of a Praying Parent. Thirty chapters with thirty prayers at the end of each chapter along with scripture. Whatever day of the calendar month, that’s the chapter I would pray for my children. That was 1993.

Godly parents desire to be faithful to pray for their children. I’m thinking today’s parents are just as challenged as I was in prayer vocabulary. I have always encouraged parental prayers as part of a parent’s spiritual discipline, and The Power of a Praying Parent was the best resource I’ve ever used. Though I started this prayer practice when my littles were under the age of 7, it was when they were in middle and high school these chapters were especially helpful: Praying Through A Child’s Room, Learning To Speak Life, and Avoiding Addictions. A fruitful resource indeed and in paperback still available today.

“Having raised children from birth to adulthood, I’ve come to realize that one of the main things our children will take with them when they leave our realm of influence is their faith. If we can be sure they have strong faith in God and His Word, and the love of God in their hearts, then we can know they are set for eternity. Our prayers can play a big part in helping them achieve that.” Stormie Omartian, The Power of a Praying Parent (p. 204)

While listening to the podcast , The Kid’s Ministry Collective I heard of a new book Bible Praying For Parents and immediately ordered two copies. Keith Ferrin and Judy Fetzer collaborated to publish a book of prayers straight from the Holy Bible. Mrs. Fetzer collected these 365 prayers and sent them to herself and others through her blog www.mamahenprays.wordpress.com. Y’all this book provides more than just a book of prayers.

Bible Praying For Parents is a great tool for brief, breath prayers for our kids for every day of the year. The book also includes a section for Bible praying by categories such as anger, anxiety, family relationships, temptation, and more. And if that wasn’t worth the $14.99 price of the book, the back section is entitled: Bible Blessings.

Forty-three blessings are listed in the order they are found in the Bible. Blessings to speak over your children at night, as they head out the door, while eating a meal, or wherever you wish to speak God’s Word and truth so they know the power and mystery of the One who loves them even more than you.

“From 2 Thessalonians 3:5 Blessing: ____________, may the Lord direct your heart into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.” (p 293)

When we read the Bible we learn God’s vocabulary and of His history and plan for His people. When we pray God’s vocabulary over our children, we hear His heart for our own, and our children hear His voice. This new resource should be beside every prayer chair on the planet because this I know: No one will pray for our kids like we will. Lord, may we be found faithful to do so regularly and well.

“A Godly Mother guides our steps…nurtures our growth, encourages our Spirit, molds our character, commits our lives to the One she’s been raising us for.” Julee Lynn Boren 1971-1998