Praying by the book, Part 3: Special prayers for your children

Central Washington, where I live, is a high desert area with inspiring mountain views, irrigated and fruited valleys, and a moderate climate that gives us four seasons without too many extremes. We don’t have hurricanes (though sometimes a wild wind storm), tornadoes (just dust devils in the wheat fields), blizzards (though a few significant snowfalls), or major earthquakes.

But we do have fires. Whether lightning- or man-caused, they quickly churn through dry forest or brush lands toward homes and towns. Sometimes smoke settles on our valley like a dirty shroud, hard on those of us with asthma and other breathing issues. I remember a couple summers when our urban area of about 40,000 was put on notice for possible evacuation because the fires were rampaging our way. Thankfully, it never happened for us.

As a result, those who live in rural areas prone to wildfires have learned what not to do, like not planting trees near a home where they’ll just act like torches. Instead, they create firebreaks with cleared, bare land, often ringing homes with gravel.

This whole scary fire scene is a picture of the need to pray for our children. They’re out there in a fierce world where sudden gusts of opposition or trouble can put them at risk. Spiritual battles aren’t fought well with the garden hose of wimpy prayers on the order of “Bless Billy” or “Be with Jane.”

For years, I prayed with my kids at bedtime and privately when there were crises, like a health issue or a difficulty at school. But I wasn’t consistent in prayers for the “big picture” of their lives. When they got to high school, I realized that needed to change. Every time they entered that big, gray, almost windowless building, they were in a battlefield of standing for God in a culture that for the most part ignored or dishonored God in word, deed, and purpose.

That’s when I decided I would pray for character issues for my children on a daily basis, in addition to whatever immediate need they faced. I came up with seven big areas on which to focus their prayer, one per day of the week. These I wrote on the back of each divider page of my personal prayer notebook, as follows:

Sunday: growing faith, place of ministry.
Monday: to delight in God’s Word.
Tuesday: purity, future mate.
Wednesday: health and safety.
Thursday: careers, values
Friday: positive attitude, gratitude
Saturday: true, godly friends.

My son and daughter are now in their late twenties. They upheld purity and married Christians. They’re active in their churches. They survived hundreds of miles driving to and from a college four hours away. They prepared well for their careers. They value simple things, like growing a garden or enjoying a community park. They express gratitude to their parents and others. They’re helpful. They have chosen good friends. They are good friends.

As I write this, I thank God for His care as they navigated those turbulent teen years. Many of their peers got too close to the fires of bad choices and continue, as young adults, to grieve their parents.

I still pray for them daily, revising those big areas for the needs I’m aware of in their lives. For example, instead of “future mate,” I’m praying for the mate they now have.

A special note to those who have no children or may not be married: carry the prayer burden for the children or a relative or special friend. God will honor that. Just as dozens of fire fighters stave off destruction in a real fire, there’s lots of room for those who intercede for the next generation.