Wednesday, August 3, 2011

31 Biblical Virtues to Pray for Your Children

Today I decided to challenge Mike's assertion that his Love Language is a clean house and therefore focused most of my day's efforts on wading through the Pit, aka the office. If he's correct on the Love Language then I will be loved for life and if he's incorrect then we will enjoy having an office with actual surfaces (As in ones you can see. Not covered by all manner of items.) Going through the very, ahem, small *cough* stack(s) of papers I was pleased to find several months worth of "inserts". We receive little inserts with our giving receipts from one of the ministries we support and I'm always amazed at how relevant and insightful they are. They're super short but always leave me with something to mull over. The one that caught my eye was titled Parents' Prayer Program. In it author Bob Hostetler shares his desire to pray more intentionally and effectively for his children. He wanted to get beyond repetitive "God bless the kids" type of prayer and developed this Parents' Prayer Program. Each day of the month, in addition to prayers for his children's safety and concerns of that day, Bob prays for a specific character trait, virtue or fruit of the Spirit to be planted and nurtured in his children. The following list is a guideline that you can adapt for use with your own children, grandchildren, kids in the neighborhood or missionary kids around the world. I'm going to be praying these for myself as well!! :)

Pray specifically for the children on your heart- that they experience and evidence:

1. Salvation (Isaiah 45:8, 2 Timothy 2:10)
2. Growth in grace (2 Peter 3:18)
3. Love (Ephesians 5:2, Galatians 5:22)
4. Honesty and integrity (Psalm 25:21)
5. Self-control (1 Thessalonians 5:6)
6. A love for God's Word (Psalm 19:10)
7. Justice (Psalm 11:7, Micah 6:8)
8. Mercy (Luke 6:36)
9. Respect (for self, others, authority) (Luke 6:36)
10. Strong, Biblical self-esteem (Ephesians 2:10)
11. Faithfulness (Proverbs 3:3)
12. Courage (Deuteronomy 31:6)
13. Purity (Psalm 51:10)
14. Kindness (1 Thessalonians 5:15)
15. Generosity (1 Timothy 6:18-19)
16. Peace (Romans 14:19)
17. Joy (1 Thessalonians 1:16)
18. Perseverance (Hebrews 12:1)
19. Humility (Titus 3:2)
20. Compassion (Colossians 3:12)
21. Responsibility (Galatians 6:5)
22. Contentment (Philippians 4:12-13)
23. Faith (Luke 17:5-6, Hebrews 11:1-40)
24. A servant's heart (Ephesians 6:7)
25. Hope (Romans 15:13)
26. The willingness and ability to work hard (Colossians 3:23)
27. A passion for God (Psalm 63:8)
28. Self-discipline (Proverbs 1:3)
29. Prayerfulness (Ephesians 6:18)
30. Gratitude (Colossians 2:7, Ephesians 5:20)
31. A heart for missions (Psalm 96:3)

1 comment:

Mindi said...

This is wonderful! I will be starting soon :)