You might not be able to help your kid with their Math homework (hello – since 5th grade I’ve been of no help to my kids!) And you may be skidding in to carpool line every day while suddenly remembering you forgot to sign that blasted school form……again. But before you label yourself as worst school Mom ever remember this one thing you can do that will make ALL the difference in the world. For you and your child.
Praying specifically for your student/child is the greatest thing you can do for your child. It doesn’t matter if your child is 3 years old or graduating honors this year. Your child needs to be prayed over with scripture and in specific ways. In doing so you will see incredible changes in both you and your child.
Because I’m not the most disciplined person in the world I have to put myself in accountability groups. So, I show up every Friday morning from 8:30-9:30am to pray with a group of Moms and Grandmothers at our kids’ school. It’s called Mom’s in Prayer. There are groups all over the world. Chances are there’s a group for your child’s school meeting already and if not it only takes you and one other Mom to start one. In this time we praise God, we confess to Him, We thank Him and we pray a verse of scripture over our children and in specific ways that day. Anything from tests, to friendships, to physical needs, to future mates….we cover it all as we break into groups of two for this strategic time of prayer. I’ve said it for years and I still mean it with all my heart – it’s one of the greatest highlights of my week. It’s a non-negotiable for me because I’ve seen God do so much through these times of praying with other Moms.
Maybe you don’t have time to hop into a Mom’s in Prayer Group for whatever reason. I’d like to throw out another idea for you as your kids start school. Choose a verse of scripture that you can pray for your child throughout the school year. Proverbs is a great book of the Bible to quickly see categories: anger, lust, greed, foolishness, laziness, won’t listen, proud, etc. Maybe you see an area in your child’s life that you know needs working on. Instead of just chalking it up to “he’ll grow out of it” or “that’s just the way she is” try applying scripture through prayer to that very issue. God loves to help us grow and as we intercede for our kids with his words we get to see with our own eyes God do a work that only he can do. The biggest toughest Mama Bear out there can’t do what God can do. We don’t know our kids as well as God does. Sounds weird but it’s true. He’s their Creator and Sustainer. So we go to him for help with our kids. Even if you have a golden child that is honor roll, skipped two grades and is college bound without a driver’s license your child needs the power of God’s word prayed over him/her.
Here’s what some of those verses looked like for our kids over the past few years. They don’t always know the specific scripture I’m praying for them but sometimes they do.
I sat down and asked God to reveal to me some verses I could be praying this year over Mitchell and Sophie. He landed me in Proverbs and I’ve chosen one on being teachable and listening to instruction. And one that talks about being a refresher of others and holding our tongue. Context: Let’s just say I have a daughter entering middle school and we all know hormonal girl drama is at it’s peak at that age. I’m praying for God to protect my girl from getting in the middle of that junk and being a part of it. I’m asking him to help her hold her tongue and build up instead of tear down. To refresh others so that she herself can be refreshed based off Proverbs 11:25. I also have a son who went to aviation camp, is driving, has a job and a savings account and well you know since all that happened he pretty much is equipped to run the Universe now (okay, he doesn’t really think that. I have to give him more credit than that. But the older and more experienced they get the more they spread their wings which is healthy and good but I think any Mom of a teenage boy knows what I’m trying to say here.) So I’m praying for him to be wise and humbly listen to instruction as well as receive a rebuke based on this verse in Proverbs.
Hug those kiddo’s tight, give them kisses, and send them off into the world covered in prayer. You can rest in knowing you have a God who hears and is working out his plan.
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