My guest author today, Edie Melson, is doing a giveaway
for an autographed paper copy of her book While
My Child is Away. To enter this giveaway draw, please leave a blog comment
below about a prayer you prayed for your children that God answered, including
the spelling out of your email address. I will draw the winning name on Sunday
Oct. 30.
Praying For Our Kids—The
Power Rests in God, Not Our Words by Edie Melson
In spite of the
fact that I now write books of prayers, praying didn’t always come easy to me.
Early on my lack of prayer power didn’t bother me. It wasn’t until I began
having children that the urgency hit. Then my prayer life became vitally
important. I wanted to be the type of mom who prayed powerful prayers that
protected her children no matter what happened.
I worried that my
prayers weren’t good enough. Maybe I hadn’t spent enough time on thanksgiving
or confession. Or perhaps I was saying things in the wrong order. Truthfully I
was looking for a formula that would infuse my prayers with power enough to get
God’s undivided attention on my child’s behalf.
Turns out that
what I believed about my role in prayer was all backwards.
I was looking
for power in my words, instead of focusing on the power of God. And I was
forgetting that each of us has God’s undivided attention—always. He loves each
of us, and more importantly to me, He loves each of my children even more than
I do.
Even when I
discovered the mistake in my thinking about prayer, I still wasn’t quite sure
how to frame my prayers. Then I revisited one of my favorite passages in the
Bible. So will My word be which goes forth from
My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire,
And without succeeding in the matter
for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:11. That was what I needed to
redirect my prayer life and get me on the right track.
Here are the 3 steps I used
to refocus my prayers:
·
I began praying specific
verses for my children. I’d choose a verse or two and insert my son’s name in place
of any pronouns.
·
I started a prayer journal. For me, it was too easy to
get lost in prayer. Once I started writing them out, I could remain focused.
·
I recorded how God spoke and
how He moved.
Often as I was praying, I would feel like God was directing my prayers and/or
adding to them. By writing these down, I could go back later and see how He had
worked. I also went back later and added in how God answered these prayers.
These
three simple steps revitalized my prayer life. By taking the focus off of me
and putting it back on God, the peace returned. With that peace, my faith also
took wings and began to grow.
Prayer
is non-negotiable in the list of things we do for our children. But the power
behind those prayers isn’t our responsibility. Our part is obedience, the rest
is up to God, and He is more than able for the job.
ABOUT EDIE MELSON:
Find your voice, live your story…is
the foundation of Edie Melson’s message, no matter if she’s addressing parents,
military families or writers. As an author, blogger, and speaker she’s encouraged
and challenged audiences across the country and around the world. Connect with
her on her blog, Twitter
and Facebook.
Purchase
Links to the Book:
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/while-my-child-is-away-edie-melson/1123199238?ean=9781617957314
ChristianBook.com: http://www.christianbook.com/while-child-away-prayers-when-apart/edie-melson/9781617957314/pd/957314?product_redirect=1&Ntt=957314&item_code=&Ntk=keywords&event=ESRCP
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