Friday Media

Do you have prayers that you repeat on a consistent basis for your kids...

...I guess I should start at the beginning and ask if you are praying for your children on a daily basis?

Either way, so much is communicated in a prayer, and so much is taught about who God is to our children by the way we pray, how often we pray, and the things we focus on when we pray.

I ran across this video the other day and loved it. It's a dad talking about a certain prayer that gets repeated over and over in his house for and from his young son.

Praying for Your Children from Desiring God on Vimeo.

God, make me a man.
Make me a man who's tough,
Tough so I can handle life.
God, make me a man who's tender
Tender so I can love people
God, make me a man.


Are there certain topics that dominate your prayers for your children?

How have you taught your children to pray for the right kinds of things?

Are there things that get repeated over and over again in your prayers as a family?

What are some ways you can "teach" through prayer in the context of your family?

It's going to be a great week...

Last year, mostly on a whim and a desire to try and find an opportunity for families to serve alongside one another (parents and kids working side by side), we "adopted" a local apartment complex and had a mini-VBS style program for the kids in that complex. For our church, it was a stepping stone to our Engage Hope Here emphasis...actually getting outside our walls and ministering to others. It was a fantastic week, and this year, we are doing it again. This week is our annual service to this apartment complex and the kids/families there. Please pray for us this week...it's supposed to be awfully HOT!

What I'm most excited about is this idea that there a bunch of kids who will have someone come to them for a week...on their turf...in their world...for them. It reminded me of when our Lord and Savior left the perfectness of heaven, put on flesh, and entered into the world. What was His purpose? "To seek and to save what is lost" (Luke 19:10).

I'm pumped up and excited that I get to leave the comforts of my little world this week and enter into someone else's for the God-ordained purpose... "to seek and to save that which is lost."

It's HERE...

It's VBS week here at Firewheel Church. It's always one of the most exciting and rewarding weeks of the year for those who love investing in the next generation.

Here are a couple of ways you can pray for the week:

• Energy and stamina of the adult/student volunteers.
• That Firewheel kids will use this as an opportunity to invite their friends.
• That ears and hearts would be open to the gospel this week.
• The safety of everyone participating.
• That God would be glorified through the body of Christ working together to accomplish something great.
  

Thanks a bunch...hope you have as exciting a week as I'm going to have!

J.C. Ryle on Training - #3

His wisdom about raising children in the "way they should go" continues to amaze me, and I've enjoyed sharing these with you.


Training Your Child to Have a Habit of Prayer

“Parents, if you love your children, do all that lies within your power to train them to have a habit of prayer. Show them how to begin. Tell them what to say. Encourage them to persevere. Remind them that if they become careless and slack about it. Let it not be your fault, if they never call on the name of the Lord."

“Remember, that this is the first step in religion which a child is able to take. Long before he can read, you can teach him to kneel by his mother’s side, and repeat the simple words of prayer and praise which she puts in his mouth. And as the first steps in any undertaking are always the most important, so is the manner in which your children’s prayers are prayed, a point which deserves your closest attention. Few seem to know how much depends on this. You must be careful that they don’t say their prayers in a hasty, careless, and irreverent manner."

“Oh, dear friend, if you love your children, I charge you, do not let the early impression of a habit of prayer slip by. If you train your children to do anything, train them, at least, to have a habit of prayer.” - J.C. Ryle

National Day of Prayer

Today is traditionally the National Day of Prayer in our country. Members of Firewheel have been praying since midnight, and we'll continue to pray around the clock until midnight tonight.

Speaking of prayer...if you haven't stopped today and prayed for your kids...stop right now.

For extra credit...gather the kids around tonight and have everyone pray together.