When we think of the Lord…His beauty, majesty, strength, and promises…his gentle leadership…his tender words…his gifts…we cannot help but to respond! Imagine the way you feel as you watch the beauty of the sunset, when you sit by a peacefully flowing river, when you hear a beautiful melody or the voice of a loved one, or when you are overwhelmed by gifts at Christmas. How do you respond? Your heart is moved! As we pray for our children today, we pray that they will know the love and glory of the Lord and their hearts will be moved because of who He is and what He has done. We are praying that as the Lord calls out and draws them unto Him, they will respond with all that they are. He has risked all to prove His love and give Himself to us, and invites us to give ourselves to Him. Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” He wants us to love Him with all of our being…our inner most desire, our spirit, our thoughts, our efforts. We are praying that our children will grow in their love for the Lord and seek to devote themselves to Him—to give Him their hearts as they receive His heart for them. We love because He first loved us and we are praying that God will draw our children unto Himself and they will respond in love for Him with their whole being.
Father, my heart responds to your glory and I praise your Holy name! Give my children the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that they might know you better; and help them to respond to you in intimacy, vulnerability, trust and confidence. Lord, I am so thankful that as my children delight in you, you will give them the desires of their hearts. I long for you to be their one true desire…that they might focus their heart, soul, mind, and strength on you and love you with all that they are. I pray that they will acknowledge you and serve you with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind. Lord, we love because you first loved us…I pray that my children will love you with all that they are and all that they have.
PRAYER POINTS:
Mark 12:30
To love the Lord you God with all your:
I. Heart
1 Samuel 12:20-24; Psalm 86:11-13; Psalm 119:57-59; 1 Thessalonians 3:13
II. Soul
Psalm 24:1-6; Psalm 42; Psalm 63:1-8; Matthew 11:28-30; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
III. Mind
1 Chronicles 28:9; Colossians 3:1-3; Hebrews 10:15-16; 1 Peter 1:13-16
IV. Strength
Isaiah 30:15; Isaiah 40:30-31; Philippians 4:12-13; 1 Peter 4:11
PRAYER POINT Activities:
** Write out and personalize a verse listed above. Then pray the verse.
**Spend time enjoying the beauty and glory of the Lord. As your heart responds to His goodness, respond in intercession for your child.
**Make a heart craft and pray different prayer topics with each step of the craft. (http://crafts.kaboose.com/puffy-heart.html )
2 comments:
I was moved to tears today as I thought about their futures. My kids love the Lord...each of them love the Lord in a different way. Anyway, I was teary because I thought of all the times I've prayed for them when they were little and dreamed and wondered what their walk with the Lord would look like as they grew.
Now, my youngest is still only 11, but my oldest is almost 14. She is tall and beautiful...just like a woman. And, I get teary eyed b/c soon she will be gone and the woman that I've prayed for all these years is forming right before my eyes. 4 more years and she will be out of the house...it won't be too long when I get to see her love for the Lord blossom to its fullest.
Thanks, Hillarie for this week. :-)
Thanks for sharing this, JBo! I found myself dreaming yesterday of the ways that my boys will love the Lord with their lives as they grow. What an encouragement to see through your eyes a little ways down the journey. It is so sweet to hear of a mother's love for her children at any stage. I can't wait to see and hear about the blossoming!
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