Praying to the Father 1 Samuel 1:27-28; Matthew 6:9-13

-One of the most valuable things that we can do for our children is to entrust them to our Heavenly Father

I think that if we are honest with ourselves, we are much better at talking about praying for our kids than we are at actually doing it. Years back now, my wife and I woke to our oldest daughter screaming, crying like she was in pain, and there was nothing we could do about it. She wouldn’t wake up and it felt like nothing that we did in those few minutes made any difference! I know now that she was having a night terror, but in my ignorance, I froze and came to a shocking realization: my child is beyond my control or my care. I’m responsible for this child, but I’m ultimately incapable of doing this on my own! Unfortunately, even as a Christian parent, I’d done everything I knew to do, but I’d failed to do the one thing that mattered most. I’d never really prayed for my child.

I. A Prayer that Changed Everything

Over the last two nights, we have seen the evidence of a generation that did not know the Lord:

In the era of the Judges, everyone did what was right in their own eyes

Gratefully, God raised up leaders who would be able to bring seasons of revival, but the fundamental problems remain: There is no king in Israel

The great transition in the life of the church takes place when a barren woman whole-heartedly prays for a child, God provides the child, and that mother entrusts the Lord with her child!

So many of us have shared this sentiment: “For this child I have prayed”. However, if we are honest, we do not know exactly what that means or why it matters.

Years ago, I had a conversation with my mother where I was sharing with her that God was calling me to a church that was going to put our family all the way on the other end of the state. Rather than being 15 minutes down the road, we would be 6 1/2 hours away. Her response surprised me. She told me that as a very young mom and a very new believer, she felt a little overwhelmed by the reality of raising children as a Christian parent. It felt like everyone else had all of the answers to all of the problems and she didn’t know anything. The only thing she knew to do was to pray, so she did. She rocked and prayed and told God: “If you will use my child for your glory you can do whatever You want to with Him and I will trust You.” She has been true to her word and God has more than faithfully answered her prayer! The wisdom of prayer is the true wisdom.

II. A Model for Prayer

When we fast forward into the New Testament, we see Jesus give us a model for prayer that I think is worth observing. It’s not the only model for prayer and it’s not the only biblical example of prayer, but it is how Jesus taught us to pray!

What do we pray in the model prayer?

We Pray to Our Father

I think that this is one critical piece that we cannot afford to miss: We are praying to a Father who loves our children in a way that we cannot

There is an immanence that is present. He is close at hand and He cares

However, there is also a transcendence. He is completely powerful and wise

Above all, He graciously gives good gifts to our children; we do not pray out of fear to a God who is unconcerned with them. He loves them better than we do.

Matthew 7:7–11

[7] “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. [8] For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. [9] Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? [10] Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? [11] If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! (ESV)

We Pray to Our King

Next, we see that our heavenly Father is also our sovereign King

We seek His Kingdom and His will; this is powerfully important because we are laying down our desires for His

This will play out quite a bit as the prayer moves forward. Am I seeking my desires or His?

It is reasonable to expect God to answer prayers that He has already taught us to pray, that align with what He already wants to do.

He wants us to be holy 1 Thessalonians 4:3

1 Thessalonians 4:3 ASV

For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye abstain from fornication;

He wants us to be wise James 1:5

James 1:5 ASV

But if any of you lacketh wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

He wants us to be serving Matthew 9:37-38

Matthew 9:37–38 ASV

Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest indeed is plenteous, but the laborers are few. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he send forth laborers into his harvest.

I had to learn this lesson the hard way. I spent a season praying for God to “fix” my wife and I all of the things that were wrong with her. It turned out, when I changed how I prayed, not my will, but God’s for my wife. God fixed the problem. The first thing He did was identify the problem and the problem was me!

We pray to our Provider

Jesus teaches us to pray for daily bread and we do so knowing that He wants to give it, however, He does expect us to ask

In fact, I think it’s fair to say that He delights in the asking; it right-sizes us and reminds us that we are dependent upon Him

I think that it is important as parents that we wrestle with something, though. Frequently, we are the vessels God is going to use to provide for our children, and we are going to have to learn how to trust Him for that provision

We also pray knowing that this provision is directly tied to His will and His goal for us; we need to listen to James’ warning on this subject

James 4:2–3

[2] You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. [3] You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. (ESV)

We pray to our Forgiver

This may seem a bit odd, but I do think we can pray for our children to receive forgiveness; ultimately this is going to be a very personal decision that they are going to have to make, but Scripture is filled with people interceding to God for forgiveness on behalf of others

I’m always moved by the example of Job, who sacrificed for the sake of his 10 children and God marked him out as righteous!

Giving and receiving forgiveness are an integral part of our Christian experience and I believe that this is a spot to live out what we pray for

I’m not sure that it does much good to pray for our children to give and receive forgiveness when we are not pursuing it ourselves, and even more so when bitterness remains between us

Ultimately, we are seeking lives for our children that are marked by grace

We pray to our Director

The next little phrase here may seem odd: “Lead us not into temptation”

We have to kind of turn this around backwards, recognizing that God is not in the tempting business, to understand what we are asking for. We want God to direct the paths of our children’s lives away from temptation and towards righteousness

I use Psalm 23 as a model as I pray this for myself:

Psalm 23:1–3

[1] The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

[2] He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.

[3] He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness

for his name’s sake. (ESV)

Green pastures for fruitfulness- spare them from fruitless living that frustrates

Still waters for rest- spare them from fatigue

Righteous paths- direct them to a way of life that glorifies God

I’m not sure there’s much better that I can pray for my children than that God makes their lives fruitful for the sake of His Kingdom

We pray to our Protector

There is a hard truth that we all have to face; there is an Enemy who wants to devour our children

They will face temptation, suffering, and the opportunity for profound failure

We pray for God to protect them, entrusting them to God. This may very well be the hardest thing

Earlier this year, I lost a friend in a completely tragic situation. He was serving on the mission field in Central America and he was shot as part of an attempted robbery. A few days later, he died as a result of complications from the shooting. I spoke to someone about the situation and they lamented to me: “This is the worst thing that could have happened!” I was reminded, it is not. Earlier that week, I sat with a family whose son was going to prison for sexual crimes against a minor. One man wasted his life on his own sinful passions; one man gave his life for his family and was gathered to his Father. It is absolutely our loss, but it is completely his gain and good. In the course of those weeks, I watched one set of parents mourn and I watched another set give thanks. We serve a God who can protect His children in all sorts of ways!