HOW TO PRAY FOR YOUR CHILD

1. Pray NOTHING hinders your child from accepting Christ as his/her personal Savior early in life. (Matthew 19:14)

2. Pray your child learns to know God and will have a deep desire to do God's will for his/her life. (Psalms 119:27,30,34,35).

3. Pray child hears stories from the Bible that will be a basis for his/her decisions throughout life. (Ecclesiastes 12:1, Psalms 71:17).

4. Pray child will-develop a keen sense of right and wrong and that he/she will truly abhor evil and cling to that which is good. (Psalms 139:23-4).

5. Pray child will increase in wisdom (mentally) and in stature (physically) and in favor with God (spiritually) and man (socially). (Luke 2:52). This prayer covers his/her total development to his/her full potential.

6. Pray that child will develop a thankful heart and a positive mental attitude. (Psalm 126:2-3, Romans 8:31)

7. Pray that God protect child from Satan and his/her wiles in every area of his/her life. (John 17:55, Psalm 121)

8. Pray that God would destroy the enemies in his/her life whether they be weaknesses, lying, selfishness etc. (Psalms 120:2; 140).

9. Pray that God would make him/her successful in the work God has for him/her to do. (Psalm 118:25, 139:9-10)

10. Pray he/she have a strong sense of belonging to a family that is loving and dwells together in unity (Psalms 133, Colossians 3:12-14).

11. Pray he/she will respect authority. (Romans 13:1, Ephesians 6:1-4).

12. Pray that his/her entire life will be a testimony of the greatness and love of Christ. (Phillippians 2:15-16 Thess 5:2-3)

If you pray one of these a month, you will have your child covered for a year!

 

Flame of Love

"I can master it," said the Ax. His blows fell heavy on the hard, strong steel. But each blow only made his edge more blunt until he ceased to strike.

"Leave it to me," said the Saw. With his relentless teeth, he worked back and forth. But to his dismay, all of his teeth were worn out or broken off.

"Ha!" said the Hammer. "I knew you could not do this. Let me show you how." But with the very first blow, his head flew off, and the steel was unchanged.

"Shall I try?" asked the Flame. And it curled itself gently around the strong, hard steel, embraced it, and would not let it go. And the tough steel melted.

There are hearts that are hard enough to resist the forces of wrath and the fury of pride. But hard is the heart that can resist the warm flame of Love.

"'For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them. But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.'" Matthew 13:15-17 (NIV)

Her Mercy Fills the Whole Earth

Let us never speak again of your mercy, Blessed Virgin, if anyone can recall having invoked you in times of trouble and you didn't come to help.

We, your servants, congratulate you on your other virtues, but we congratulate ourselves on your mercy. We praise your virginity, we admire your humility, but mercy has for the miserable a sweeter taste. We embrace mercy with more tenderness; we call it to mind more often, we call upon it more frequently.

It is mercy, indeed, which obtained that the world be restored, which forcefully drew by its prayers salvation for all men. Of course, Mary is concerned for the human race. She is the one to whom it was said, "Do not fear, O Mary, you found grace, precisely that grace you were looking for."

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

Today I taught My Child

When I got mad today and hit my child
"For his own good, " I reconciled,
and then I realized my plight...
Today, I taught my child to fight.

When interrupted by the phone,
I said, "tell them I'm not home."
And then I thought, and had to sigh...
Today I taught my child to lie.

I told the tax man what I made,
forgetting cash that was paid,
And than I blushed at this sad feat...
Today I taught my child to cheat.

I smugly copied a cassette,
To keep me from one more debt,
But now the bells of shame must peal...
Today I taught my child to steal.

Today I cursed another race,
Oh God, protect what I debase,
for now, I fear it is too late...
Today I taught my child to hate.

By my example, children learn
That I must lead in life's sojourn
In such a way they are led
By what is done and not what is said.

Today I gave my child his due
By praise for him instead of rue.
And now I have begun my guide;
Today I gave my child his pride.

I now have reconciled and paid
to IRS all that I have made.
And now I know that this dear youth,
Today has learned from me the truth.

The alms I give are not for show,
And yet, this child must surely know
That charity is worth the price:
Today he saw my sacrifice.

I clasp within a warm embrace
My neighbor of another race.
The great commandment from up above.
Today I taught my child to love.

Someday my child must face alone
This fearsome undertone,
But I have blazed a sure pathway:
Today I taught my child to pray. 

 

In The Midst

By Sally I.Kennedy

From the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. Psalm 61:2

He leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. Psalm 23:2b, 3a

 

The river was singing a bit louder this morning due to some badly needed rain overnight. It had been so dry, practically a drought, and the river was much lower than normal.

The water was bubbling and meandering anyway. In the midst of the river’s activity there was a tiny, still pool. Often trout that are resting can be seen there.

Right now may be in a very busy place for you and your life. Sometimes ‘busy’ comes in spurts. Or maybe you are overwhelmingly busy all the time. Perhaps your life is not that busy. No matter which bill fits your ‘busy’, we all need a place to regroup and recoup.

Interruptions can fuel the business, distracting us and causing backtracking and having to start over. Since I’ve been at the computer writing this I’ve had a few of those. The phone’s rung about four times, and several texts have come in all of which were important to take. A saying came to mind about how your life isn’t disrupted by interruptions; the interruptions are your life.

So, most of us are just plain busy. Age doesn’t preclude busyness, either; young, middle, or old – doesn’t seem to matter. And it is essential that we refuel.

In the midst of busy, if we take an hour….or take a few moments….and look to the Lord with gratitude in our hearts, we can go to a still place where we can be momentarily be restored and refreshed. Psalm 23 tells us clearly that God, our good shepherd, leads us to still waters AND restores our soul.

That’s good news.

Be still, and know that I am God Psalm 46:19

The Power of GOD

Have you ever been down and out and nobody seems to be around for you to
talk to...THAT'S GOD...he wants you to talk to him.

Have you ever been just sitting there and all of a sudden you feel like
doing something nice for someone you care for...THAT'S GOD...he talks to you
through the Holy Spirit.

Have you ever been thinking about somebody that you haven't seen in a long
time and then next thing you know you see them or receive a phone call from
them...THAT'S GOD...there is no such thing as "coincidence."

Have you ever received something wonderful that you didn't even ask for,
like money in the mail, a debt that had mysteriously been cleared, or a
coupon to a department store where you had just seen something you wanted,
but couldn't afford...THAT'S GOD...he knows the desires of your heart...

Have you ever been in a situation and you had no clue how it is going to get
better, but now you look back on it...THAT'S GOD... he passes us through
tribulation to see a brighter day...

 

Deleted

By Sally I.Kennedy

"and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints."

                                                                                                                               Revelation 5:8

Hurriedly, I was trying to retrieve E-mail I had deleted by mistake. I thought, “Maybe....if I act right away!” No such luck. It was gone from that big E-mailbox in the sky. I was reminded of old science fiction movies where a martian, or other outer-space individual, would get zapped. One beam of light and he was deleted. Gone.

This week my husband was sharing how much his spiritual heritage means to him. “Just think,” he said, “of all the prayers that have been said for me by my parents, grandparents, Sunday school teachers, and untold others. Who knows where I’d be if it weren’t for all those prayers!”

Later, I thought about what Ben had said. None of the prayers offered in his name has ever been deleted. No prayer he has prayed has been erased, either. Nor mine. Nor yours.

It says in the final book of the Bible that all our prayers are stored in a huge golden bowls in God’s throne room. All.

What an honor privilege, and blessing to pray. Each and every prayer is heard by God himself. And not one of them will ever be deleted. Not even by accident.

 

That is good news