I’ve recently been reminded of the importance of praying over my children. It was easy when they were little and I was the one tucking them into bed each night. Those little girls are busy teenagers now, blossoming into beautiful women. While I may not tuck them into bed at night, praying over them is more important than ever, so new habits must surface.
This year Ainsley started high school and since we go to a school outside of our area, I drive her every morning on my way to work. We have 15 minutes of uninterrupted time each morning, which gives us the time to talk about what is going on in her life and for me to pray over her before she leaves the car. I remember thinking in the beginning of the year what a drag it was going to be to have to leave early every morning to take her, and now it is time I absolutely cherish.
Jerilyn’s needs are different. She tends to get attacked by Satan at night and can be overwhelmed by fear. She lives in a wonderful group home during the week, but that means she is not home most nights. We now have nightly calls where I can pray over her. The wonderful perk of a child with autism is that habits are easy for her to develop. They make her world feel much safer. Jerilyn calls every night before bed, you could set your clock to it, and this connects us even when she isn’t with me. It also builds her faith as she sees God step in and answer our prayers.
Daisy has been the more challenging one to get into a routine, because there is not a specific time of day when it is just us two. However, I was reminded this week of the importance of being purposeful about praying over her. She has been having a rough week, and I’ve had to have some difficult conversations with her. The moods of a twelve-year-old girl are fierce! 🙂 As I became purposeful about praying over her, and doubling-down with a prayer in the morning and evening, I could see the teenage angst fading and the joy only Jesus brings, appear on her face.
Lord, help us to pray purposefully over our children. We are often the only thing that stands between them and a world eager to distract and entice them away from you. Help us to connect on a heart level with them by letting them see our love poured out in petitions for them to you, our sweet, sweet Heavenly Father.