Parents Praying for Their Kids' Walk with Christ - Part 2

What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to him? Deut 4:7
 
We know so little about how prayer works, and this may explain the reason why we struggle to pray with consistency and focus. But according to our focal verse today, we can be inspired by the fact that the Lord is near to us whenever we pray.   There IS a God who listens to our prayers. However effective prayer may be, we can be assured that God has ears to hear, a heart to care, and a will to respond.   Today we will consider several key aspects of praying for our kids. 

1. Pray for them to Know the Lord – Choosing to follow Jesus supersedes any and every other decision our kids will ever make. It impacts their eternity. We want them to go beyond a faith system that we hand to them. We pray that God will reveal Himself to our kids, so that their faith will be founded on a personal conviction that The Lord is near to them as well.
2. Pray for them to Grow in the Lord – More than just that initial decision to embrace salvation in Christ, we pray for that decision to awaken a hunger in our children to pursue Him. Knowing that we cannot prevent our children from struggles and hardships in this world, pray that from an early age they will learn how to grow in Christ through every trial they face. 
3. Pray for them to Show the Lord – I am Facebook friends with one of my middle school nieces. I try not to comment on her postings, so that her friends won’t be concerned about the old guy in her friend list. I’ve been watching and praying for her influence among her peers. She lives through all of the normal, middle school three-ring circus. Almost daily she posts a simple thought about the Lord. Yesterday she wrote, “God is worthy of our spontaneous praise!” A simple, bold declaration of faith. 

---

Camper Corner
Your parents are praying for you. You can help them in two ways: Tell them specific ways to pray for you, and then pray for your parents. In doing so, the Lord will draw near to your whole family in fresh and wonderful ways.