How I Am Praying for My (Future) Children

 

HOW I AM PRAYING FOR MY (FUTURE) CHILDREN

A few weeks back, my wife and I got the much-anticipated phone call that her sister was heading into labor with their second child. We dropped everything and rushed to the hospital to be there to welcome our nephew to our world.

As I held that precious newborn baby who had only been born a few hours earlier, I was reminded of how incredibly miraculous the birth of a child really is. How precious a new life really is. How beautiful God’s creation really is.

At the same time, I was reminded of how little we control in the process of having and raising children.

Even though my wife and I do not currently have children (or any plans at the moment to change that fact), it heightened my recognition of the need to pray for whoever God may one day entrust to us as parents.

In particular, I am praying for my children specifically for:

• Their Salvation

I fully affirm the sovereignty of God, especially in regards to salvation. I recognize that I cannot bring my spiritually depraved children to life by any work of my own. I can only love and raise them in a home that displays the message of the gospel on a daily basis and pray that God does a miraculous work in opening their eyes to the truth. Their salvation is out of my control; so I plead to the One who controls everything on their behalf.

• Their Sanctification

In addition to their justification, I also pray that they would continue to grow in conformity to the image of the Son. I do not want them to struggle with sin and temptation in the same ways that I have. So I call out to God, interceding for them by asking for protection from temptation and sin. Ultimately, I pray that they would seek to glorify God above all else.

• Their Physical Health

In this fallen world, physical health is far from a foregone conclusion. I pray that God would protect them from any physical suffering. That they would be happy, healthy children. That God would show mercy and grace to them by protecting them from the physical brokenness of this world.

• Their Spouses

When my wife and I got married, I came to realize how long and how faithfully many people had been praying for our marriage. Our parents had been praying for us even before we were born. With each passing day, I have come to realize how incredible of a gift from the Lord my wife has been to me. A spouse who loves Christ even more than she loves me. I pray for the same blessing for my children.

• Their Friends

Scripture and wisdom teach us that our friends carry a great amount of influence over us. We often become more like those with whom we spend the most time. I pray that my children would not be drawn to and united with friends who will lead them on a path away from Christ. Instead, I pray that they would come to find a group of friends who constantly encourage, strengthen, and love them.

• Their World

Since the Fall in Genesis 3, the world has been a broken place. It has always been a world tainted with sin and enmity with God. However, at different times, the world has been overrun with grievous evils. In our present day, morality continues to decline. I pray that the world my children enter into will have an awakening to the things of God.

I do not know when (or how) my wife and I will expand our family. I do not know anything about what to expect or what life will be like when that happens. All I know is that when those children arrive, we will love them unconditionally with everything we have. And that they are being prayed for even now.