by Ruth Floresca

Created on: December 03, 2009   Last Updated: December 04, 2009

Parenting can be the best and toughest job there is. It can bring parents joy as well as pain. Among our many roles as individuals, I believe that being a parent is the one that can make us feel a true success or an utter failure depending on how our children turn out as adults in the future.

Nine years ago, I bought a book entitled "The Power of a Praying Parent" by Stormie Omartian. It has inspired me a lot to pray for my children. Stormie encourages her readers to "depend on God to enable us to raise our child properly, and He would see to it that our child's life was blessed." I wholly agree because one essential part of our jobs as parents is to cover our children with prayer as we release them into God's hands.

According to Stormie, "God didn't promise that nothing bad would ever happen to my child, but praying released the power of God to work in his life, and I could enjoy more peace in the process." True, there is peace in knowing that you are doing what you can while also letting God do what only He could.

"For it's the power of God that penetrates a child's life when a parent prays," writes Stormie. So how do we pray for our children? Let me share with you what I learned from her book.

Start with a personalized list. Each child has his or her own personality and quirks. One may be easily angered while one is more prone to being lazy. Be specific in your prayer for each one. Pray not only for the concerns of the moment but also for your children's future. Ask God to show you how to pray for each child because He is the only One who knows what each child needs and what challenges they would encounter as they grow up. Include appropriate Scripture verses in your prayers as often as possible. To all intents and purposes, you are claiming God's promises for your child as you quote a verse or two during prayer time. As Stormie says, "When we employ God's Word in prayer, we are laying hold of the promises He gives us and appropriating them into the lives of our children."

Regard prayer as an intercession for your child's life because that is exactly what you are doing. While God has a plan for our children, Satan has a plan for them too. Through prayer, we can bind the evil one and forbid him any authority in our children's lives. This should be done in conjunction with teaching our children God's ways and His Words, instructing them to respect God's laws, and guiding them in making the right choices. Repeat specific prayers as often as you like until you feel released to move on to another. Just don't make empty repetitions in your prayers. "Pray as the Holy Spirit leads you, as you listen to His prompting in your heart for your child," counsels Stormie

Praying is the act of acknowledging and experiencing the presence of God in our lives. It means allowing His authority over our circumstances. It is seeking Him and releasing His power to give us the means to overcome our problems. Trust Him to do wonderful things in your children's lives. I did and I still do.

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