I Thessalonians Chapter 2

“For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory. And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.” (I Thessalonians 2: 11-13 NIV)

Prayer for Our Children

Entrust my daughter with the spreading of Your Word. Test her heart, Oh God, and find her in favor, laboring to please You and not man. Fill her heart with a gentle and loving spirit that is spurned on by holiness and righteousness. Encourage her, comfort her, and urge her to live a life of Christ, calling her into Your Kingdom. Let Your Word be at work in her heart so that she will embrace You as Lord and Savior. Be her Hope, her Joy, and the Crown of glory around her head. ... 

A trying week already and it was only Tuesday. Little girl tested and pushed, obstinately insisting on her own way and defiance oozed from every pore of her tiny personage. By 8 a.m., screaming, tears, and temper tantrums raised their ugly heads and correction and discipline commenced. Tears brimmed in my eyes as I prayed with a now contrite little girl. 

Just the night before, I pleaded with the Lord, asking Him to grant me wisdom in parenting and to help Sweet girl desire what was good and despise what was bad. The thought of another morning like the one I endured Monday, had spurned me to seek God with deeper intensity. Yet, here we are again, I inwardly sighed. Less then an hour into our day and my energy and emotions already felt spent and drained. Oh Lord, please help turn this day around, I silently prayed. Turn this morning ash into something beautiful.

Thankfully, the rest of the morning unfolded in peaceful harmony, a welcome respite and relief from the past 48 hours. Then, the doorbell rang. A dear friend of mine whom Sweet girl adore, stood at our doorstep. The room ignited with happy celebration as we squealed and exchanged hugs. Sweet girl jumped with excitement and joy, her eyes sparkling and a wide smile stretching from ear to ear. Adding to our celebratory mood, was the near 60-degree weather outside in the dead of winter.

I suggested, “Let’s go to the park!”

“Yaayy!” cried my little girl, jumping up with excitement. 

We bundled ourselves in coat, mittens, and hat and stepped out into the warm, winter sunshine. Sweet girl ran ahead as my friend and I chatted and laughed. Soon, Little girl was swinging and sliding to her heart’s content. She chattered and talked to my friend as if she was a contemporary and glowed with exuberance.

“Let’s make it a fun day,” I declared to my friend and to Sweet girl, “and take a trip over to your favorite park this afternoon!”

Sweet girl’s eyes widened to saucers and her grin grew even wider. “Really, Mommy? Really?” She looked from my smiling face to my friends, then back again to mine. “Yaaaayyyy!” she rejoiced, throwing both small arms in the air in celebration.

​We laughed as we watched Sweet girl dance with excitement. My heart spilled over with mother’s joy, the kind that comes from the shared pure delight and innocent, unbridled joy of the ones whom you hold most dear.

As we started back to the house, Sweet girl skipped and bounced, a smile never leaving her face. Her entire body and spirit vibrated with exhilaration and pure joy. A huge smile spread wide over her little face and her eyes sparkled and beamed. She slipped her small hand into mine as we walked away from the park and she hopped and bounced beside me. ” I will give You all my worship,” suddenly sang Sweet girl, “I will give You all my praise!” 

My heart overflowed with joy at the sound of these words pouring from my little girl’s mouth. It had been a while since such spontaneous songs of worship had burst from my little girl’s lips. With the introduction of other educational and preschool DVDs which contained useful content but were not spiritual to any degree, the days where Sweet girl sang only praise and worship songs were now over. Intermingled and slowly overtaking her repertoire were school songs and songs from her other DVD programs. I clearly remember mourning the loss of my Sweet girl’s desire for only God’s scripture and praise. I pleaded with the Lord to restore her love of His praise songs and worship and to fill her with a love of Him and His ways. 

At such young ages, our children are inodiated with worldly influences that are subtle and stealthy, stealing the attention, time, hearts, and minds of our innocent, small ones. Not that these fun and educational programs are wrong, far from it indeed. Only that they can crowd out more room for god and claim space in our children’s hearts and minds that could be designated for Jesus. And if we are not careful, more and more will be chipped away from this sacred space until one day, we parents wake up, and realize that a huge hole now exists in the souls of our children and we wonder how it happened. 

So, like many moms out there, I began waging a purposeful and intentional campaign to renew, restore, and reignite a love for God, His word, His praise, and His Ways in my daughter’s heart. I began by hedging and guarding my daughter’s mind with increased reading of the Bible, playing more children’s Christian CDs and DVDs, spoke more about God, and purposefully decreased fun programming and increased DVDs that held spiritual and scriptural content.

​For what we fill our hearts with is what we become. I intentionally started singing more praise songs around the house and tuned the radio to a local Christian music station. It was my goal to surround my little girl with the Light and Life of God’s Word.

Now to hear praises flowing from my little girl’s lips voluntarily and with genuine joy for Jesus, brought tears to my eyes and an overflowing wellspring of gratitude and thanksgiving to God.

“You alone, I long to worship,” she sang with heartfelt sincerity, “You alone are worthy of my praise!”

​Again, and again these words poured out as a drink offering to the Lord from her mouth. Joy burst to overflowing from Sweet girl’s heart, that the only way she knew how to find expression was through worship and songs of praise to the Lord. “I will give You all my worship,” she sang, offering her joy as an act of worship, “I will give You all my praise!” Sweet girl praised with heartfelt abandon, uncaring of who heard. “You alone, I long to worship,” she declared joyfully, “You alone are worthy of my praise.”

So be encouraged dear friends and parents, when your day is in shambles and you feel broken, know that nothing or no one is beyond hope; whether it is a hope for a better start or hope for the heart and soul of someone you love; nothing is impossible with God. For we serve a God who majors in the transformational and makes beauty from ashes. Our Lord only needs speak a word or breathe the breath of heaven into our lungs, and all Creation will bend every knee and bow before the throne of heaven. All we need to do is to trust and obey Him. Whether our trust is reflected through doing what the Bible tells us to do, listening and obeying the still, soft voice of the Lord, seeking Him through prayer, or bowing in humble submission and worship, we foster trust as we align our thoughts, attitudes, and actions to walk in step with Jesus.

It is often this quiet trust and obedience to the Lord and faithful following that reaps a bountiful harvest of hope and joy. Staying faithful to what we know is true and doing what is right, even when we do not understand or are unable to foresee the outcome, God can turn our faithful steps into the most beautiful of offerings, despite the circumstances that surround us or the situation from which we just found ourselves. Here, in the transformational and transformed, we find hope for what is and for what is to come.

​Open yourselves today to hope that is full of life and promise, a Hope that never fails or disappoints. Place your trust in Jesus today, the Hope of all men, the Son of God, and the Savior of the world, and you will experience everlasting peace, life eternal, and Hope everlasting. 

A Parent's Prayer

​Dear Lord, I ask for Your transforming presence today in my life and in the life of my loved ones. Help me to walk in trust and obedience to Your Will, Your Word, and Your Ways. Fill me with hope, peace, and joy that transcends all understanding and fills me with the Light of Christ. Guide my steps, my decisions, and actions this day.