Fight for your Kids from your Knees

Text

1 Samuel 1:11 KJV 1900

And she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no rasor come upon his head.

3 John 4 KJV 1900

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

Introduction

Being a parent is an overwhelming task. There are so many aspects of parenthood that we need to constantly be aware of and attentive to if we are going to raise children that love God and will serve him. There are many helpful resources and people we can turn to when we are struggling but there is one resource we cannot ever neglect and that resource is prayer.

We will face many challenging times when it seems like there is noting we can do. There will be times when discipline does not seem to be effective, grades in school are down, your preschooler is having nightmares and their just seems to be rebellion. In every circumstance there is one thing we can and must do and that is pray!

Praying is one area that we cannot afford to get wrong. We may fail in many areas but we cannot, we must not fail in the area of prayer.

Quote: “When we work, we work; but when we pray, God works.”

We need God at work in the lives of our children and grandchildren!

Transition

In this lesson we will look at how to effectively pray for our children. We will look at 10 biblical principles of how to pray for our children. Truth we can use daily as we bring our children before the Lord. I want to challenge you to pray daily for your children - you may be the only one that ever brings their name before God!

I. Prayer of Dedication

1 Samuel 1:11 KJV 1900

And she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no rasor come upon his head.

Public dedication is great but private dedication daily in prayer is what is most needful

Children are on loan from God and they belong to him

Psalm 127:3 KJV 1900

Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: And the fruit of the womb is his reward.

II. Prayer for Salvation

2 Timothy 1:5 KJV 1900

When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.

We cannot forget that children are born sinners and need to be saved

We must diligently pray for them to be saved

Illustration:

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D.L. Moody told the story of a man who came to him and said, "When the Mexican war began I wanted to enlist. My mother, seeing I was resolved, said if I became a Christian I might go. She pleaded and prayed that I might become a Christian, but I wouldn't. I said when the war was over I would become a Christian, but not till then.

"All her pleading was in vain, and at last, when I was going away, she took out a watch and said: My son, your father left this to me when he died. Take it, and I want you to remember that every day at 12 o'clock your mother will be praying for you. Then she gave me her Bible, and marked out passages, and put a few different references in the fly-leaf. I took the watch and the Bible just because my mother gave them. I never intended to read the Bible. "I went off to Mexico, and one day while on a long, weary march, I took out my watch, and it was 12 o'clock.

I had been gone four months, but I remembered that my mother at that hour was praying for me. Something prompted me to ask the officer to relieve me for a little while, and I stepped behind a tree away out on those plains of Mexico, and cried to the God of my mother to save me."

God saved him, and after the Mexican war was ended, he said, "I have enlisted again to see if I can do any good for my Master's cause."

Pray that your child would understand their sin and their great need to be saved

III. Prayer for their Spouse

Gen

Genesis 24:12–15 KJV 1900

And he said, O Lord God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham. Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water: And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master. And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder.

Abraham knew the importance of who Issac would marry

Who your child marry’s will make or break them - it is the most important decision they can make after the decision to trust Christ as Savior

Pray that they would marry someone who is saved

Pray that their spouse would have a heart to serve God

Pray that they would marry someone who is not only saved but is a Baptist

IV. Prayer for Good Friends - Discernment

Proverbs 18:24 KJV 1900

A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: And there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

Jesus Christ is our ultimate friend - pray that they learn this

Pray for loyal and truthful friends

Pray for friends that will strengthen them in character

Proverbs 27:17 KJV 1900

Iron sharpeneth iron; So a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.

Proverbs 27:6 KJV 1900

Faithful are the wounds of a friend; But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

V. Prayer for a Surrendered Will

Having a strong willed child can be a difficult challenge and if you have multiple children, the strong willed one is coming to mind as I am talking. Although a strong willed child can be challenging if his/her will is surrendered it can be a great blessing.

Proverbs 1:7–8 KJV 1900

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: But fools despise wisdom and instruction. My son, hear the instruction of thy father, And forsake not the law of thy mother:

Pray that you child will fear God

Pray that your child will surrender his will to God

Pray that they will submit to your instruction and leadership

VI. Prayer for Health & Safety

We can see the concern in parents for the well being of their children all through the Scriptures.

Jairus asking help for his daughter

Mark 5:22–23 KJV 1900

And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet, And besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live.

Mark 5:41–42 KJV 1900

And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise. And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment.

The Syrophoenician woman asking for deliverance for her daughter

Matthew 15:25–28 KJV 1900

Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

Illustration: Amanda and I rear ended on Bell road- the first thing we were concerned about was the physical well being of the people involved. It helps us to remember “safety is of the Lord”

Proverbs 21:31 KJV 1900

The horse is prepared against the day of battle: But safety is of the Lord.

VII. Prayer for Character Development

Character development is hard but it is necessary. We must be cautious about shielding our children to much from situations that will develop their character. As parents it is natural to protect but sometimes this can be detrimental.

Illustration: Everyone can picture some news story they have read about an over zealous soccer mom or little league dad…The reality is that many parents want to shield their child from experiencing any challenging situations. But these situations develop character!

A. Integrity- pray and teach your child to be honest

Hebrews 13:18 KJV 1900

Pray for us: for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly.

B. Respect - pray and teach your child to respect the authority in their life.

C. Wisdom- pray that your child will develop sound decision making skills founded on Scripture

Philippians 1:9–11 KJV 1900

And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.

D. Humility- pray that your children will humble themselves before the Lord and others

Proverbs 22:4 KJV 1900

By humility and the fear of the Lord Are riches, and honour, and life.

James 4:7–8 KJV 1900

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

James 4:10 KJV 1900

Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

VIII. Prayer for Open Doors

We need to ask God to work to open the right opportunities in our children's lives. This is true for relationships, opportunities to witness and serve and for the purpose that God has in their life.

Colossians 4:3 KJV 1900

Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds:

When a blessing comes in their life we need to remind them that it was the hand of God that provided it

IX. Prayer for Spiritual Protection

We have discussed at length of the reality that Satan has his fiery darts pointed at our children. We must pray for spiritual protection.

Ephesians 6:16–18 KJV 1900

Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

We can remember the hedge that Job had

Job 1:10 KJV 1900

Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.

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X. Prayer for God’s Glory

The ultimate goal is that the lives of our children would glorify the Lord!

1 Corinthians 10:31 KJV 1900

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

Conclusion

As John R. Rice once observed, "All of our failures are prayer failures." May we not fail our children in our prayer closets.

One day, your children will be gone from your home. One day, you will be in Heaven. One day, all that will be left for your children is the legacy of your prayers. It is that legacy which you are either neglecting or building right now.

We must fight for our children and we must do it from our knees!

write as a pre-eulogy. It's something you live-every day.

In other words, what you do today is shaping your legacy of tomorrow.