Who Do I Pray For and How?

I was touched by a post on Teach Me To Braid about praying for the parent’s of our children’s future spouses. I have been praying for the men and women that will one day join my children in matrimony for as long as I have been a mom…that’s 19.75 years. I have always kinda fancied the idea that I wasn’t raising my children for myself, but really to compliment their future other half…since their spouses would be the recipient of the person my children have become after of all of our years of loving, teaching, training and encouraging our kids.

However, several years back I realized that while praying for their spouses and their future in-laws was vital, there were lots of other key players that David and I needed to cover in prayer too…their teachers. While I love homeschooling, maybe these kiddos I am praying for are in school. Their education is perhaps the most important gift their parents can give them outside of leading them in the Gospel truth. Their instructors over the 13-18 years of forming their minds during their education will play an incredibly crucial role in shaping them into life-long learners. Their teachers need our prayers.

Their coaches. Being an athletic family I envision that my children will naturally gravitate toward other athletes. Coaches are more than just game-instructors. They are responsible for forming how these kids will learn to lead, take failure, fight loss and battle to win against all odds. Their coaches will shape them into over-comers in ways that perhaps their parents may miss. The coaches in their lives need our prayers.

Their caregivers. In my life, my faith can largely be traced back to my nanny who took me to First Baptist of Porter, TX every time she had me in her possession and the church doors were open. Which was all the time. Banana cream cake with vanilla wafers crust, sweet tea, Sunday school and Fellowship Hall was where I learned about the love of Jesus. So I pray for the dear ones who may be the caregivers over the children who will one day join my family through matrimony.

And lastly, I pray for their PASTORS. I pray that their pastors know the love, mercy and grace of God and teach the Word encouragingly. I pray the messages their parents are hearing at church help them shape the worldview and mindset of these children firmly on the foundations of love and grace, not law and self-righteous legalism. I pray that because of their pastor’s firm grip on “righteousness through faith in Christ”–that these children are growing up fearless. Lord knows we need boldness if we are gonna change the world! I pray that their youth pastors have sensitive eyes and ears to see and hear what these kids need and help guide and protect them through the challenges of adolescence.

Unless you think all that takes too much time, I’ll flat out write you what I pray…

“Dear Heavenly Father… I thank you for all of my children. I pray that you would be blessing their future husbands and wives with parents that love and lead them in Your Truth. I pray for their caregivers to know You and point them to You. Lord may their teachers give them real wisdom and push them to excel in their studies. Father, give them coaches that teach them how to win at life-even if they lose the game, and drive them to strive for their best on the field. Lord, translate what they’ve learned in competition into their hearts and minds. And Lord, I lift up their family’s pastor to You. May they be taught the truth of your unfailing love, unending mercy, and how they are robed in your righteousness from the pulpit every week as far back as they can recall.”

So listen to the Spirit as you pray for those who have influence over the future of your child. Maybe He will lead you to lift up grandparents, neighbors, babysitters or tutors…who knows! But I do know this… somewhere in this world, there are 15 sets of parents, pastors, gaggles of teachers and coaches that are being prayed for by this mama and daddy! And I look forward to meeting them at the wedding. 😉