When looking over verses from our Write the WORD bookmark, it’s often challenging to choose just one to unpack for the Sunday Soaking devotional. Instead, I’ve opted today to highlight three passages from our “Parenting By The Book” theme, and to suggest how to pray those verses back to God as you intercede for your precious ones:
My son, keep my words and store up my commands within you.
Proverbs 7:1
Lord, your word is life. I pray my children would not just memorize Your Word but would love it and live it. Give each of them an insatiable hunger and thirst for your truth that will never be satisfied this side of heaven. As they open Your Word, let it be with an expectant heart and an eagerness to learn. I pray that You would surprise and delight them, as they realize that something they read that morning applies directly to their lives that afternoon. May they marvel and meditate, listen and learn, speak and share Your Word. I pray each of my children would allow the light of your truth to illuminate their path and they would walk in the bright light of that truth all their days. Give me creativity and wisdom in how we, as a family, can store up Your commands, as we memorize passages together. May our family embrace all the blessing and benefits that come from knowing, loving, living, and hiding Your Word. (Psalm 119)
Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you;
rebuke the wise and they will love you.
Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still;
teach the righteous and they will add to their learning.
Proverbs 9:8-9
Jesus, I pray each of my lovelies would have teachable spirits. I pray they would have the humility and maturity to accept correction and grow wiser as a result. Give me great wisdom to disciple and discipline well – convict me, Holy Spirit, when I’m tempted to correct in anger. May love lead out as I rebuke. Above all, may my children know I love them, want what is best for them, and may they desire to grow through godly correction and training. Help me to be thoughtful, consistent, faithful, and true to Scripture as I teach and train my children. I pray they would be caught when guilty and I would respond calmly and appropriately. (James 1:20)
Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth.
He who gathers crops in summer is a prudent son,
but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son.
Proverbs 10:4-5
Dear God, it seems so logical to want our children to have a better life than ourselves. Help me to refuse to spoil them by failing to teach them the value of hard work and responsibility. Help me to intentionally increase responsibilities and broaden life skills with each birthday. Give each of them a desire to pursue excellence in all their duties and whether or not anyone is watching. May they be diligent whether serving as a volunteer or in a paid position. Ultimately, may each realize that it is You they are serving (Colossians 3:23)
A love for God’s Word, a teachable spirit, and a strong worth ethic.
If our children reach adulthood with those three traits, we can rest assured that we have done our jobs well. As is true in most areas of life, these biblical values are “more caught than taught.” Our faithful example will carry much more weight than our lectures.
We must show them – not just tell them.
As you and I pray for our children, we must also pray for ourselves, asking the Holy Spirit to spur us on to love the Word, model a teachable spirit, and demonstrate a strong work ethic. Let’s do it!
In Friday’s video, Laura introduced the topic of her upcoming Cross Church Siloam Springs Ladies Bible Study and extended an invitation to join us – in person or online – as we take a closer look at I Corinthians. If you live in the Northwest Arkansas / Northeast Oklahoma area, you can join us at Camp Siloam on Wednesdays, from 9 – 11 a.m., beginning September 7, 2022.
