Never Stop Praying

Never stop praying. 1 Thessalonians 5:17

AS PARENTS, we love to fix things. When we see a problem in our child’s life, we dig into our tool kit of parenting strategies, good advice, behind-the-scenes intervention, and new sets of rules, seeking to pull out what will do the job. And, of course, there’s nothing wrong with any of these tools. It’s just that often, our quick reliance on these methods takes the needs of our child into our own hands rather than placing them into God’s hands.

Throughout the Scriptures we’re encouraged to depend on God through prayer: “Never stop praying” (1 Thessalonians 5:17); “Keep on praying” (Romans 12:12); “Devote yourselves to prayer” (Colossians 4:2); “Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion” (Ephesians 6:18). According to Jesus, we “should always pray and never give up” (Luke 18:1). In other words, our needs, as well as those of our family and the world, should keep us in a constant spirit of dependence expressed through prayer.

Of course, this charge to “never stop praying” speaks to more than simply the ongoing nature of prayer throughout the day. It also challenges us not to give up on prayer. Don’t give up praying that your child will truly know God in a genuine way. Don’t give up praying that your child will open up God’s Word on his or her own. Don’t give up praying that God will give your child friends who will be companions in the pursuit of godliness. Don’t give up praying that God will give your child the grace for singleness or for marriage. Don’t give up praying that God will convict your child of sin and provide power to overcome it. Don’t give up praying that God will develop in your child a love for his or her church as well as a passion to reach a lost world with the gospel.

Give up fixing. But never stop praying. Give up worrying. But never stop praying. Give up despairing. But never stop praying.

Lord, forgive me for acting as if parenting ________ is all up to me. It just isn’t. I am fully dependent on you to give me everything I need to parent ________ wisely and well.