Praying for our students through the year - day 23 (W) Work Ethic

Today pray your child will have a great work ethic. It doesn't matter if we are doing school work, part-time jobs, working to perform a role in a play, be part of a sports team, doing chores, or in a career, God wants each of us to do our best. Teach your children to use their hands and minds to accomplish good things that honor God. Teach them that work is good, but we also need to let our bodies rest and reflect on all God has blessed us with (Exodus 23:12).  

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. Colossians 3:23-24

Teach your children that hard work and dedication produces positive results. The Bible teaches us to develop solid work ethic and to put our all in what we do.  I once heard "wherever we are, be 100% there". It is easy to try to multitask or be distracted when we are busy however we should be dedicated to what we are doing. God put Adam in the garden to WORK and take care of it (Gen. 2:15). 

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going. 

Ecclesiastes 9:10

Teach them that all they do has a purpose! Laziness can be a problem and become habitual. Model the example of joyfully working in front of your children and others. Teach them to not be idle; that there are consequences to being lazy.  (2 Thess 3:10). Pray your child will find joy in working, as working for the Lord. Pray they will not want to be lazy or idle. Pray they will put forth their BEST effort in ALL they do. Pray they will have a desire to work hard and want to succeed at achieving their goals. Give them praise to encourage them as you seem them working hard and accomplishing milestones, but remember it is ok to let them fail. Lessons can be learned from failure. Failure may motivate them to work harder next time. Pray for a good work ethic today! 

Praying for our students through the year - day 22 (V) Victory

Today let's pray for victory for our kids. How do we define victory? I am not talking about winning at everything they do, or being first. True victory is loving God with all of our hearts, souls and minds and loving our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:36-38).

1 John 5:4 says: For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

We have victory over our sin when we are living for Christ. Pray that our children learn to live for Christ every day. Pray they will have victory over their sins. Pray they will overcome this world and all that allures them away from God. Pray they will choose right over wrong. Pray God will provide them with the strength and integrity needed to overcome all that hinders them from having victory. Pray that will not be tricked by the traps and snares of the enemy as he tries to enslave them to sin. Pray that they will understand this victory cannot be accomplished on their own, but through the power of the Holy Spirit living in them, through following His direction daily! Pray they will have VICTORY in JESUS today!

Praying for our students through the year - day 21 (U) Understanding

Wow! The 1st half of the first 9 weeks of school has ended. The 6th week of school is beginning. Today we are praying for understanding, Understanding has two parts: 1) the ability to learn, comprehend, and make decisions and 2) being sympathetic, tolerant, or wise towards people. The first is about gaining knowledge  - whether it be of the Bible, or at school, or work. We should ask God to help us understand; especially what His Word says and how to apply it to our lives. The second part of understanding is how we treat others; we should show them Christ-like love and try to see their point of view. We should try to relate to what is going on in their lives; having compassion.  

Proverbs 18:2 says “A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion”. 

Don’t be selfish about having it “your way”, listen to others and be kind. Godly Character is more important that getting it “our way” all the time. 

Proverbs 2:1-6 says “My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding”. 

Wisdom and understanding come from God, however to obtain it, we must seek it. His Word reveals it, but we must read His Word if we want to gain it. True understanding is of God and we can’t create it by our own efforts. We have to seek it, want it, and search for it. It doesn’t come easy, nothing we treasure does. Once we obtain it, we must always try to use it and be understanding toward others. Thank our Heavenly Father for making understanding and wisdom available to us. Pray He will help each of us and our children study more and earnestly seek understanding. Also, pray we will all grow in understanding toward others and show compassion and mercy to all. 

Praying for our students through the year - day 20 (T) Thankfulness

Thankfulness is a prominent Bible theme. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." Did you catch that? Give thanks in all circumstances. We should have thankful hearts. Thankfulness should be a way of life for us, naturally flowing from our hearts and mouths. Pray for your children to be thankful today. Psalm 136:1 says "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever." In this verse,  God's Word gives us 2 reasons to be thankful; because He is GOOD and His Love endures FOREVER! Help your children learn what it means to be thankful in all situations; when we are sad or have bad days, when we are stressed, busy, and when life is going good. When our boys were younger I would try to ask them: "What was the best part of your day today? What was the worst part? What was the funniest thing that happened today? Was there anything bad, sad or that upset you today?" This gets your children talking more than asking "How was your day?" Also, once they answer, you can teach them to be thankful during those times. We do prayer requests and praise items at church, it makes me sad at how quickly we can make a list of problems, yet it is so difficult to think of reasons to be thankful. I ask in Children's Church sometimes, "tell me something good that happened today?"... let us all learn to give thanks with grateful hearts! Let’s pray for our children to learn to be more thankful today; we are so blessed and should never take it for granted. 

I can't help but think of the Thankfulness song from Madame Blueberry - Veggie Tales:

I thank God for this day,
For the sun in the sky,
For my mom and my dad,
For my piece of apple pie!
For our home on the ground,
For His love that's all around,
That's why I say thanks every day!
Because a thankful heart is a happy heart!
I'm glad for what I have,
That's an easy way to start!
For the love that He shares,
'Cause He listens to my prayers,
That's why I say thanks every day! 

Praying for our students through the year - day 19 (S) Self-Control

Today we are praying for Self-control for our children! In order to have self-control we must have

self-discipline; the power or ability to control our thoughts, actions, feelings and desires with the intention of improving self. Self-control is restraint exercised over one's own impulses, emotions, or desires. Self-control is self-discipline in action.

Galatians 5:22-23 says “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

Self-control comes from the Holy Spirit living in us. 

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 says “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified”. 

It is hard without the help of the Holy Spirit to keep our keep our emotions in check. It can be difficult to not lose our temper or to spout off at the mouth. It can be hard to not go too far in relationships and to save ourselves for marriage. It can be difficult to not overeat or be a slob. It is hard to make it a priority to spend quality time in God’s Word, or attend church faithfully to worship and share with others…however, all of these things are possible when we let the Holy Spirit control our thoughts, words and actions. With His help, self-control is obtainable. Teach your children to talk to God; help them learn to tell God what areas they are struggling with and how to look in His Word for answers to help them overcome. He will guide us when we sincerely ask Him. Pray your children will learn self-control in their life. Pray they will learn to control whatever battle rages inside of them. Pray they will have strength to stand strong and lean on God so that their emotions, impulses and desires don't run out of control. Pray they will be a positive example of God's Love to everyone around them. Pray they will learn to think before they speak or act. Teach them to internally reflect and ponder these questions before they take action:  "Is what I am about to do or say pleasing to God? Is it helpful or hurtful to others and to my testimony"? Encourage them to live out loud for Christ!

Praying for our students through the year - day 18 (R) Respect

Today I am praying for my sons to respect others, (not just my sons but my whole family). Respect is regard for the feelings, wishes, rights, or traditions of others. The apostle Peter tells us we should show respect to everyone. (1 Peter 2:17) ...this includes God, family, friends, and those in authority over us. Pray your kids learn to be respectful to others. Pray they will realize all people were created in the image of God and worthy of respect and love. Even when others do not believe in Christ, we should still love them in hopes that they may come to a salvation knowledge of Him. Christ loved all people enough to die for them; we should treat them in a decent manner. The Bible tells us to love God most and that He needs to be the first priority in our life, then we should love our neighbors as ourselves. To truly love our neighbors we must show them respect. Pray your family to have enough self-discipline to show proper respect to all people. Model respect in front of your children - they are watching, listening and learning how to interact from your example. If we argue, complain, have negative comments, or show a lack of respect toward others, then our children will learn to do the same. On the other hand, if we model the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-26) then they will learn to pattern these characteristics from the Holy Spirit also. Pray for your family to grow more respectful today!

"Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor." Romans 12:10

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Matthew 22:37-38

Praying for our students through the year - day 17 (Q) Quiet

Ecclesiastes 3:7b

Today we are praying that our children, and ourselves, learn the virtue of being quiet. We need to learn to hold our tongues. The tongue has incredible power, it can build up or destroy in a matter of seconds. It can bring blessings or curse others, praises or words of hate. Colossians 4:6 tells us to let our words be seasoned with salt and full of grace. In Ephesians we are told to not let any unwholesome talk come out of our mouths, to only say things that are beneficial. Have you ever heard if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all?...well sometimes it may be better for us to be QUIET! Pray your child learns when it is best to just be quiet. Pray they learn to be quiet in class, church, or during other times of instruction. Also pray they learn how to be quiet before their Heavenly Father. Lord, teach us to hold our tongues. I once read a book called "When to Speak Up, and When to Shut Up" - some things to ponder before speaking are: 

1. Does the situation directly involve me?
2. Do I have something valuable and purposeful to contribute by speaking?
3. What will happen by my speaking or being silent? 
4. What will the consequences be (good and bad) if I choose to speak or be silent?
5. What are the motives of my speaking or being silent?

"There will be times when we speak out instead of remaining silent and there will be times we are silent when a voice should come forth." ---Michael D. Sedler

We all probably have past regrets of when we spoke wrong words or didn't speak when we knew we should have. Pray that your past choices of how your used your tongue will guide you in how you chose to speak or be quiet in the future. We can all learn from past mistakes. We want our words to glorify God, bring healing, salvation, and honor to God - not self. We want them to promote more holy communication and learning, not destruction. On the other hand, we want our QUIET to bring personal time with the Lord, learning and time for Him to speak to us. We do not want our lack of words to reflect pouting or anger. It can be difficult to discern when to speak and when to be silent, that is why praying for discernment (day 4) must never stop. Teach your child the value of quietness and meditation. Teach them how to be quiet before the Lord. Show them how to read God's Word and how to meditate on it. When we meditate on God's Word we are quite before The Word, deliberately focusing on it, reflecting on the meaning and context, studying the passage to learn from it - not just reading it - we cannot do this is we are reading it and moving on with out stopping and being quite before the Lord. God's voice is steady and unwavering, yet we must quiet our voices and soul to be able to hear it. Pray your children will learn to be quiet daily before the Lord and allow Him to speak to their soul. Pray He will quiet their fears, anxiety, and self-doubt of their tempted bodies, and help them realized they are made for more! Once we learn to be QUIET before the Lord then we will be able to SHOUT his mercy, grace, love and forgiveness to the world around us from the rooftops!

"A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back." Proverbs 29:11 

“Teach me, and I will be silent; make me understand how I have gone astray." Job 6:24

"Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble." Proverbs 21:23 

"What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops." Matthew 10:27 ESV

"And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed." Mark 1:35 ESV - Jesus even got away by himself to be quiet and alone with God. He is our perfect example of how to live. Spending quiet time alone with Him keeps us focused and helps us not get overwhelmed or burned out. Make sure you are quiet before the Lord today!