Attitude

Attitude

May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.

Numbers 6:24-26

The words we choose and the attitudes we use in speaking to our children about their future hold tremendous influence on how they will think and act as adolescents and adults.

If a child grows up hearing positive words of confidence, encouragement, and blessing from a parent, those words will stick when the child begins to have those inevitable questions about his or her worth during adolescence.

The opposite is also true. If children grow up hearing negative words of criticism, nagging, and sarcasm from a parent, those words will also stick—sometimes for the rest of their lives. The way we reflect on who our children are now and who we think they will become has more impact on them than we probably realize.

Gary Smalley and John Trent write, “When it comes to predictions about their future, children are literalists—particularly when they hear predictions from their parents, the most important people from an earthly perspective in their lives.”^a

Here are a few ways to encourage our children and help them see God’s blessing for their lives:

When a child has had a bad day at school, decide together to pray daily that God will bring some special blessing or encouragement to that child’s life, thanking him together when he does.

As a son or daughter displays characteristics that will be admirable in marriage or fatherhood or motherhood someday, point them out, and then remind him or her that you pray regularly for his or her future spouse, wherever that person may be.

Pray the verses above for your child at bedtime or when he or she is leaving on a trip.

Father,

In the same way that we leave a church service encouraged by a hopeful benediction, please help us to encourage our children to see your blessing and hope in their lives. Amen.