Note: This series will consist of five phases: Created-parenting, Pre-parenting, Parenting, Post-parenting, Grand-parenting. Each of these phases will have four sections<\/p>\n
Section 4. Prayer’s Effectiveness – Commitment (article #16)<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cAnd it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually\u201d <\/i>(Job 1:5). Prayer is one of those topics that is easy to speak about and difficult to practice. Paul listed four kinds of prayer to young Timothy: supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks (1 Tim. 2:1). We have all said the words, \u201cI\u2019ll be praying for you,\u201d then we failed to keep our promise. When it comes to our children and grandchildren, this is a promise we can\u2019t afford not to keep.<\/p>\n Regular prayer<\/strong><\/p>\n Job rose up early every day and offered sacrifices for his children. At least we don\u2019t have to do that! But the New Testament admonishes us, \u201cTherefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased\u201d <\/i>(Heb. 13:15-16).<\/p>\n Creation allows it<\/span>. David said, \u201cEvening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice\u201d<\/i> (Psa. 55:17). When Daniel heard bad news he also opened his window and prayed three times that day (Dan. 6:10). God and Adam met in the garden in the cool of the day (Gen. 3:8). God made the cycles of nature so that we could fellowship with Him on a regular basis. We eat and sleep by that clock, surely we can pray also.<\/p>\n Our fallen nature requires it<\/span>. We are well aware of the old nature within us, warring against the law of our minds (Rom. 7:23). Prayer is the antidote to our distractions. Even when it comes to our prayer commitments, we are carried away by time and circumstance. Those for whom we pray are not affected by our distractions, only by our lack of prayer.<\/p>\n Our spiritual walk desires it<\/span>. We are servants to what we obey (Rom. 6:16). To walk with the Lord of the universe and know His presence creates a thirst within us to talk with Him. We desire to hear Him, to know Him, to be led of Him. When the needs of our loved ones come to us, we should naturally desire to bring it before the Lord.<\/p>\n Availing prayer<\/strong><\/p>\n James wrote, \u201cThe effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much\u201d <\/i>(Jas. 5:16). Then he used the example of Elijah who prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and then that it would rain, and God answered his fervent prayers. James also spoke about \u201cthe prayer of faith\u201d <\/i>that will save the sick and lead him to repentance. Our prayers for our children avail much. Keep these things in mind.<\/p>\n Ask for His governance<\/span>. I\u2019ve been on a college board for twenty years and I\u2019ve experienced a lot of talk about \u201cgovernance.\u201d Those in charge must oversee the operations with good governing principles. William Wilberforce, the great British statesman, once wrote, \u201cWho can say how intercession before the Governor of the universe may avert for a while our ruin\u201d (Real Christianity<\/i>, 130). \u201cFor of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever\u201d<\/i> (Rom. 11:36). We should, in prayer, \u201ccommit our souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator\u201d <\/i>(1 Pet. 4:19). He is able, and will do, what is best.<\/p>\n Accept His guidance<\/span>. We are often searching for God\u2019s will in our lives. I find myself searching often for His will in my children\u2019s and grandchildren\u2019s lives. Even when we have made all our plans, James warns, \u201cInstead you ought to say, \u2018If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that\u201d <\/i>(Jas. 4:15). Often what I think is priority, the Lord directs otherwise. Paul prayed for the Colossians whom he had never met saying, \u201cFor this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding\u201d <\/i>(Col. 1:9). Pray for their wisdom and accept the direction in which God leads.<\/p>\n Look for His providence<\/span>. We have used this English word a lot when speaking of God\u2019s will. It is used once in the KJV by a lost man, Tertullus (Acts 24:2), when seeking to subvert God\u2019s will. The Greek word is pronoia<\/i>, \u201cto see before\u201d and translated \u201cprovision\u201d in the NKJV. The only other time is appears in the NT is Rom. 13:14, \u201cMake no provision for the flesh.\u201d<\/i> We might say that God\u2019s \u201cprovidence\u201d is truly His \u201cpro-vision.\u201d We take provisions with us when we travel. We should pray that God is packing our spiritual suitcase with His provisions!<\/p>\n Don\u2019t be surprised by His omnipotence<\/span>. I add this fourth thought because God is truly omnipotent. Yes, there are some things God has told us not to expect in the age in which we live, but there are things He may do \u201cexceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us\u201d <\/i>(Eph. 5:20). Why limit God in our requests if they are not expressly unallowed in Scripture? And why should we be surprised if He actually does it?<\/p>\n Intercessory prayer<\/strong><\/p>\n How comforting was it to Peter when Jesus said, \u201cI have prayed for you that your faith should not fail\u201d <\/i>(Lk. 22:32)? Paul was constantly praying for the various churches: \u201cAlways in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy\u201d <\/i>(Phil. 1:4). \u201cWe give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you\u201d <\/i>(Col. 1:3). These believers were Paul\u2019s spiritual children. How much more should we be praying for our very own children!<\/p>\n They are people too!<\/span> Of course they are, but do you know what I mean? We may have a dozen other people on our pray list, either personal or at church, for which we pray on a regular basis. And yet in all of that effort, we can neglect our own family because we take it for granted that God is watching over us. I use our church prayer list when I pray for others. So when I pray for my children, I use objects in the room to remind me of each one. When I pray for our eleven grandchildren, I have a picture of each one in front of me so that I can see the faces. If men\u2019s minds are like waffles, you understand my necessity.<\/p>\n They are immature<\/span>. In so many ways our children are growing up beyond our limited lifetime. In many ways they will be far beyond us. Yet, in so many important spiritual characteristics, they have not traveled the road which we have. Haven\u2019t we all wished we could go back in time and change a certain decision we made? Well, we can\u2019t in our lives but we can in the lives of our children. We can help them change that before it happens, like a spiritual time-machine that allows us even something better than for ourselves\u2014a positive change in their lives!<\/p>\n They are at crucial junctions<\/span>. I\u2019ve already written often about the junctions in the road. I\u2019ve also updated the analogy from a four-way stop to a round-about. Sometimes, you have to be in the correct lane to either exit or not, especially in the larger intersections. There are many dangerous exits in life from the right path with God. Prayer will help the child to be in the right lane in order to make the right turn.<\/p>\n C.S. Lewis once used the expression, the \u201cdignity of causality\u201d to describe the gift of prayer God has given to us. We can use this gift in one of two ways. We can do things ourselves and that is a dignity we have as human beings in His image. This is the way we operate 95% of the time. Or, we can ask God to do it, and that is a dignity given to His children also. We use this dignity about 5% of the time. Compare the ability you have with the ability God has and ask yourself which gift you should be using the most. It is better to humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God and let Him exalt you in due time!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Note: This series will consist of five phases: Created-parenting, Pre-parenting, Parenting, Post-parenting, Grand-parenting. Each of these phases will have four sections Section 4. Prayer’s Effectiveness – Commitment (article #16) \u201cAnd it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[984],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11279","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-senior-saints"],"yoast_head":"\n