Tag Archives: family

Prayers for My Children

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We’ve often heard verses like “train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart” or “do not provoke your children to wrath.” But when you read the Bible intentionally with the eyes of a parent, you’ll find that God is constantly talking about kids.

Here are a few verses that you may be unfamiliar with about children. I started praying these verses when my wife was pregnant with our first son, and we pray them over our kids every day. Hopefully there are a few new ones you can add to your list.

  1. My children are taught by the Lord, and they have great peace (Isaiah 54:13)
  2. The Holy Spirit will be upon my children and my children’s children (Isaiah 59:21)
  3. God’s Word will always be in the mouths of my children and my children’s children (Isaiah 59:21)
  4. My descendants will be mighty upon the earth (Psalm 112:1-2)
  5. God will pour out His Spirit and His blessing upon my descendants (Isaiah 44:2-5)
  6. My descendants will be known upon the Gentiles as the people whom the Lord has blessed (Isaiah 61:9)
  7. My children will not be trouble. (Isiah 65:23-24)
  8. God will answer my descendants’ prayers before they ask, and will hear their prayers as they pray (Isaiah 65:23-24)
  9. My children will have a place of refuge (Proverbs 14:26)
  10. God will not turn away from doing good to and for my children (Jeremiah 32:39-41)
  11. God will put the fear of the Lord in their hearts, and they will not depart from Him (Jeremiah 32:39-41)
  12. Things will go well for me, my children, and my children’s children (Deuteronomy 4:40)
  13. Me and my descendants will dwell in prosperity, and they will inherit the earth (Psalm 25:12-13)
  14. My descendants will inherit the nations, and rebuild communities (Isaiah 54:2-3)
  15. God teaches my children and infants to tell of His strength (Psalm 8:2)
  16. The Lord will bless and keep my children, and will shine His face upon them and be gracious to them (Numbers 6:27)
  17. The Lord will lift up His countenance upon them and give them peace (Numbers 6:27)

Reflections on 1-2 Chronicles, Good Kings, and Parenting

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josiah

I’m reading through 1 and 2 Chronicles right now, and something stuck out to me that I never noticed before. Most of the names in the lists of kings don’t really stick out, but there are a few that you’ll remember from Sunday School or your children’s bible: Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, and Josiah. The “good kings.”

Jehoshaphat sought after God, and his heart took delight in the Lord. Hezekiah did what was good and right and true before the Lord, and cleansed the temple. Josiah did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and found, read, and reinstituted the Law of God.

They were great guys. Really.

And all three of them lived long, prosperous lives, passed on to the next life, and left their kingdoms to their sons. Their terrible sons. Their obstinate and rebellious and downright evil sons.

And their sons set up altars to false idols. They murdered their subjects and sacrificed their own children to pagan gods. They led their people to rebel against God’s perfect and good and holy commandments. In a word, they undid all the good their fathers had done. And the kingdom never recovered.

Today, many of us men are working hard to build our kingdom. And maybe we’re even doing it biblically. We’re striving to follow God, reading our bibles and saying our prayers and serving in our churches. And while all of that is noble and admirable and good, we must make sure we don’t forget our first ministry: our home.

Because at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter that you’re on the church board if your kids aren’t in the pews. It doesn’t matter how many summer camps you’ve been at if your kids don’t want to be there. It doesn’t matter how much you tithe or how many sermons you’ve preached or how many chapters of Proverbs you’ve read this month if your kids aren’t in love with God.

So men: Rise to the occasion. Teach God’s words diligently to your children (Deut. 6:6-7). Don’t build kingdoms that will crumble in a generation. Build a legacy that lasts. Be a good king who raises up good kings.

“As for you, my son, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind.” (1 Chronicles 28:9)

Reflections on Nehemiah

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Rebuilding the Wall of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 3-4), published in 1886

There is a cool passage from a cool story in a cool book of the bible that probably 95% of Christians have never read.

Here’s the setting: In the 5th century BC, God’s people have been in exile and slavery for over two generations, but finally are permitted to return to their homeland. They return to a destitute Jerusalem and, despite political opposition and threats of violence, rebuild the city and experience revival.

And how did that revival happen?

Nehemiah chapter 8, verse 8: “[The priests] read from the Book of the Law of God and clearly explained the meaning of what was being read, helping the people understand each passage.”

Families put their lives and businesses on hold to do in-depth bible studies with their religious leaders. They spent entire days reading, praying, and worshipping (9:3). If they came across a commandment that they weren’t actively living, they immediately implemented it, like, right then and there (8:14-16). Husbands and fathers in particular spent extra time actively learning the same content the priests and Levites were studying (8:13).

And the result? A revival that changed a nation.

Many Christians say they want our nation to turn back to God. They want lives changed, they want people delivered. They want revival. But things like that don’t happen just by wanting them or tweeting them or complaining about them. They come about when people like you and I dedicate ourselves to God and His Word. They come about when we learn what God says, when we care about what God says, and then we do what God says, like, right then and there. They happen when fathers decide to lead their families in worship, instead of being passively present when our wives are reluctantly forced to lead.

Want the world to change? Maybe take a break from binging Netflix tonight, and study Nehemiah with your wife.

Encouragement from Genesis

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abe

I recently reread the book of Genesis with several teenagers from the church. While discussing it, the most common thing the students brought up was all the weird and terrible things the main characters kept doing:

  • Abraham lies about his wife being his sister, and she is almost swept into Pharaoh’s harem
  • Lot, while inebriated, impregnates both of his daughters
  • Judah sleeps with (who he assumes is) a prostitute, then tries to have her executed
  • Jacob deceives his father to steal from his brother, then spends twenty years running from God
  • Isaac, like his father, practically sells his wife into an enemy king’s harem to save his own skin

And that’s not the half of it! From cowardice and theft to sexual deviance and murder, they were guilty of it all.

But here’s the beautiful thing… God still blesses them!

Despite their sin, despite their selfishness, despite it all, they are still God’s people.

Why?

Because God made a promise. God promised some idol worshipper named Abram that if he forsook his previous life and followed after the one true God, that God would bless Abram and all his descendants after him (Genesis 12:1-3). And Abram, while certainly not perfect, followed God (Genesis 12:4). Abram, though he occasionally faltered, believed what God had said (Genesis 15:6). And God kept His promise.

And an entire family, an entire people, an entire nation was blessed because of it.

And the Lord said, “I will be with you and bless you. And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven. And in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because Abraham obeyed My voice.” (Genesis 26:2-5)

There are two lessons to learn from this:

  1. You are blessed because God made a promise.

If you’re anything like me, you’re probably not perfect. You make mistakes. You slip up. But guess what? In spite of all that, God will still bless you. Why? Because of someone else’s faithfulness.

If you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:29)

  1. The choices you make will bless your family for generations to come.

Over four thousand years ago, some guy in the desert listened to God, and God blessed him. His wife didn’t always listen to God, but God blessed her because anyway. His kids didn’t usually listen to God, but God blessed them anyway. His nephew didn’t listen to God, but God blessed them anyway. His grandkids and great-grandkids ran from God and disobeyed Him, but God blessed them anyway. And four thousand years later, a world that largely ignores God is still being blessed by Him. All because of a promise God made:

In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. (Genesis 12:3)

Your obedience affects those around you. Your faithfulness will transcend your short time on earth. So don’t just live for yourself. Live for your family. Live for your community. Live for the generations that are yet to come. They are counting on you.