For about the past month, the Lord has really been convicting and encouraging me concerning my prayer life. One Sunday during our parenting class, the teacher challenged us to write down ten things we are praying for our children. On Wednesday night of the same week, the women's Bible study leader taught a lesson on prayer which impacted my heart deeply. The Lord used these things, along with my friend Kimberly Wagner's blog posts concerning prayer to convict my heart and shake me into the reality of just how imperative it is for me to pursue a fervency and consistency in my prayer life!
Since I have been immersed in Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians over the past year through Precept studies, key phrases from Paul’s prayers immediately came to mind, along with other Scriptures I have prayed for them.
- That they would love the Lord with all their heart,soul,mind, and strength! (Mark 12:30)
- That God would unite their hearts to fear Him.
- That they would set their affections on things above, not on things of the earth, remembering that this world is not their home, but their citizenship is in heaven! (Col.3:1-3 and Phil. 3:20)
- For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; (Colossians 1:9-11)
- That they would hunger and thirst after God and His Word.
- That they would have such an understanding of the holiness of God that their lives reflect that (their speech, entertainment choices, etc.).
- that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:16-21)
- Humility (Philippians 2:3-4)
- That they would be awed by the Gospel and never get over God’s amazing grace in their lives!
- That they would be sensitive to sin and live a life of repentance.
