We Ought to be Praying for our Children
Introduction
In the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 11, Jesus says about John the Baptist “among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist.” Wow, what a compliment from Jesus to John the Baptist.
Now think about John the Baptist’s parents. Suppose word of that compliment that got back to them. And suppose that his grandparents are still living, and they too heard about the compliment given by Jesus to their grandson. I believe that both his parents and his grandparents would have great joy in their heart for the man that John the Baptist turned out to be.
Listen to me, I believe that a son or a daughter can either bring a great amount of joy to his or her parents and family, or a son or a daughter can bring a great amount of pain to his or her parents and family.
And as parents and grandparents, aunts, and uncles and those who love that child. you have something to do with how that child turns out. You have a prayer responsibility to that child.
Well, I pray for him or her when he or she is sick. I pray for the child when he or she has something going on in their life. That is great, but that is not enough. Today, it is going to take an angel to teach us how to pray for our children.
So, if you have your Bibles turn to Luke 1:11-16 and let look at the blessing the angel gave Zechariah concerning his son. And I believe that blessing should be the daily prayer request for our children. Please stand for the reading of God’s Word.
Scripture
Luke 1:11–16 (NKJV)
11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. 15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.
Point 1
As parents or one who loves that child our prayer ought to be that he or she not only bring me joy in their youth but they also bring me joy in all phases of their life.
Luke 1:14 (NKJV)
14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.
Think about it. There is great joy when a couple finds out they are pregnant. They is great joy when they get that first sonogram and the doctor reports that the baby is healthy. There is great joy the day of the child’s birth. There is great joy when the child says the cutest things or does the cutest things as they are growing up.
But for some parents, the teenage years of the child are tough, and you begin to lose that joy. And then when the child is grown instead of going the right way in life, they take the wrong path and it brings you as the parents' heartache.
The angel said to Zacharias that you will have joy and gladness and the angel did not limit it to when John the Baptist was a child. He was to have joy and gladness all his life.
And that is what our prayer needs to be for our children. We need to pray that my child, or the child I love brings me joy and gladness all the days of my life. That should be a daily prayer of someone who has children.
Point 2
As parents or one who loves that child our prayer ought to be that he or she will stay clear of those things that will cause them to fall into temptation and fall off course in their life.
Luke 1:15 (NKJV)
15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink...
What I know about this world, the moment you know that you are pregnant is a good time to begin praying that your child does not fall to the temptations that Satan puts out there.
Satan certainly puts drugs and alcohol out there for your children. According to National Center of Drug Abuse Statistics Sixty two (62) percent of teenagers have abused alcohol. By the time your child is in 12th grade, 46.6% of teens have tried illicit drugs.
It does not get any better when they graduate from high school - nearly twelve (12) million young people ages 18- to 25-year-olds used drugs in the last month.
But that is not the only temptation that Satan throws out there at your children.
There is sexual impurity. The CDC reports that forty eight (48) percent of teenagers have had sex before they graduated from high school.
And in recent years, pornography has become a big things among teenagers. They got these apps that they can send naked pictures to one another.
All of those things are traps of the devil, and if you don’t pray for your child their life will get off course.
As a parent or one who loves that child, your daily prayer should be don’t let my child get off course.
Point #3
As parents or one who loves that child our prayer ought to be that my child will come to know Jesus Christ as his or her Lord and Savior.
Luke 1:15 (NKJV)
15 ... He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.
At Bala Chitto Baptist Church, we have child dedications. And we talk about the innocence of the child until the point that he or she is able to reason that he or she is a sinner and in need of a Savior. And in our prayer we lift up we say something like this: God allow this child to come to you when he or she realizes that they are a sinner in need of salvation. We do this dedication only one time for the child and therefore we only pray that pray one time collectively as a church.
But you as the child’s parents or the one who loves that child, you should pray that daily that he or she will ask Jesus Christ into their life.
Point #4
As parents or one who loves that child our prayer ought to be that my child be called by God to be used in ministry to others.
Luke 1:16 (NKJV)
16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.
I can remember very early in my Christian life that parents were thrilled if their child entered the ministry. Parents don’t feel that way today and they certainly don’t pray that way.
According to In Trust Center for Theological School, the enrollment in seminary has been on a decline since 2005.
According to a Barna Survey in November 2021, more than 4,000 churches closed in America in 2020. Since the Covid pandemic began, over 20,000 pastors left the ministry and 50 percent of current pastors say they would leave the ministry if they had another way of making a living.
People not going to seminary and pastors leaving the ministry is going to spell big problems for the church.
The Scripture tells us plainly the problem:
Romans 10:14 (NKJV)
14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?
You as the child’s parent or the one who loves that child, you should pray daily that God use my child to bring others to Christ.
There is no greater job in the world then to be serving God.
Conclusion
In life, there are no guarantees how a child is going to turn out. Therefore, as parents and those who love that child, we must hit our knees.
