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A Prayer about the Miracle of Life

by | Jun 27, 2022 | Daily Prayer, Parenting, Theology

A Prayer about the Miracle of Life

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. Psalm 139:13

Lord and Giver of Life,

As the grandparents of one baby born in February,

and two more to be born in the fall,

We’re more blown away than ever at the miracle of life.

As we have all become privy to the wonders of 3D ultrasounds

which take us into the womb to ooh and ahh

at the tiny little fingers,

the cute snub nose,

the long skinny legs,

of a 20-week-old life,

may we pause to consider

how wonderfully worked are your masterpieces,

the precious lives you have formed.

Lord, even as we marvel at the miracle of pregnancy,

may we serve every mother and every child,

finding ways to support them

in work and nutrition and childcare and healthcare,

that every child may grow to know

that they are created and redeemed by you.

In Jesus’ child-loving name. Amen.

Read Psalm 139:13-16.

A Prayer about the Gift of Children

by | Feb 26, 2022 | Daily Prayer, Parenting

A Prayer about the Gift of Children

Gracious Creator,

Even this week as I’ve stared in awe 

at the exquisite design of our newborn grandchild, 

a profound gift from you…

Even as I’ve marveled at this lovely creation 

you’ve so graciously brought forth 

through our daughter and son-in-law, 

I marvel at your kindness. 

Indeed, you chose to form the inward parts 

of every single child, 

to knit them together in a mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13). 

And even as we thank you for giving us this child, 

we pray for the many many would-be moms and dads 

who have prayed for the gift of a child, any child. 

We ask that you would grace them 

with endurance and faith and hope 

as month after month and year after year go by 

with no fruit in their womb, 

with no offspring who is their own.

Show them your kindness 

even in the midst of such a painful wait. 

And Lord, for all of your extraordinary and precious children, 

we pray for safe, secure, loving homes. 

In Jesus’ child-loving name. Amen.

Read Psalm 127:3; Psalm 139:13-18

A Prayer about Redemption in Families

by | Feb 11, 2022 | Daily Prayer, Parenting

A Prayer about Redemption in Families

Author God,

Thank you for your Word 

which gives us hope 

that you can redeem 

even the worst of our sins 

against our families. 

Time after time, 

you supply true stories 

of fallen people, 

people you transformed, 

people through whom 

you accomplished your purposes.

In Genesis 37 we see Jacob, 

one of the fathers of many nations, 

showing favoritism to his son Joseph,

giving him a coveted coat of “many colors”.

Joseph doesn’t help matters 

by sharing a dream with his brothers 

about how he will one day rule over them.

His brothers seethe with resentment, 

so much so that they decide to kill Joseph

and tell their father he was eaten by an animal. 

Oh, Lord, have mercy on us. 

Show us that but for your transforming grace 

in Jesus Christ, 

this would be our end. 

We are like Jacob and Joseph and the brothers,

and yet, you have bought us with Christ’s blood, 

rescued us from certain death 

by your mercy. 

Thank you, Lord, 

for your goodness and grace.

In Jesus’ redeeming name. Amen. 

Read Genesis 37. 

#prayer #prayerchangesthings #ETdailyprayer

#hopewriterlife #goodnewsfeed #votd #Biblestudy #dailydevotions #grace #dailyverse #womensministry 

#hope #faith #love #gospelshaped #devotional #shereadstruth #womenoftheword #christianliving 

A Prayer about the Wisdom Parents Need

by | Jun 27, 2021 | Daily Prayer, Parenting

A Prayer about the Wisdom Parents Need

Good Father,

It’s sad to say but still true 

that some verses in the Bible 

have been misused to do a lot of harm. 

Many parents misunderstand this verse 

because of poor teaching. 

Some of us have been told 

that all we have to do 

is plant our kids 

in Sunday school and church every week, 

and they will follow you. 

Others have felt guilt 

because even though we thought 

we were guiding our kids toward you, 

they’ve headed in the opposite direction. 

The reality is that we need 

the Wisdom of Proverbs, 

your Son, 

to guide us as parents every step of the way. 

We need the forgiveness of your Son 

to save us and our kids 

from our parenting mistakes, weaknesses, and sin.

We need the grace of your Son 

to heal us from the heavy guilt 

that weighs us down. 

With all of those things in place, 

we will be able to guide and direct and train our kids, 

to show them your amazing love 

in the way we live. 

With all of those things in place, 

we’ll be able to trust your perfect parenting 

when our kids seem to be going 

in any direction but toward you. 

Draw us near to you, Lord, 

wherever this verse finds us today, 

and give us your peace and hope.

In Jesus’ perfectly wise name. Amen. 

Read Proverbs 22:6; Deuteronomy 6:6-7; Psalm 37:30-31.

Know a parent who needs this reminder? Please share!

Freedom from Parenting Guilt: Six Gospel Keys

by | Jul 28, 2020 | Gospel living, Parenting

Freedom from Parenting Guilt: Six Gospel Keys

Freedom from Guilt about Parenting Programs

The toddler is screaming for those mini-Oreos in the cookie aisle. If you know exactly what to do, you may not be a parent. The fact is, parenting is confusing—the right thing to do is not always clear.

The Living Story focus for July is freedom, specifically the freedom we enjoy in Christ. Because too many parents spend their lives trapped in guilt, today we are focusing on freedom from parental guilt. If you know a parent who needs freedom and hope, please share this post with them.

From the time we are pregnant or adopting, we will be met with parenting advice and programs. Some parenting programs hold false promise to help us produce the designer child we think we want. Child-centered, parent-centered, Jesus-centered—which do we choose? (We DO know the Sunday school answer)!. And even if we know which program is right, how do we execute?

Some parenting programs hold false promise to help us produce the designer child we think we want. #gospelcenteredparentingCLICK TO TWEET

The Only Parenting Program That Frees us from Parental Guilt

The truth is, no program will “work,” whatever that means—not even the Jesus-centered one. Not because Jesus fails, but because we do. Please don’t hear what I’m not saying: the collective, common-grace wisdom of these programs can be very helpful, or why would I have hauled around that heavy tome, What to Expect When You’re Expecting throughout my pregnancy?

We, and our children, will fail to keep the law every time. We need Holy Spirit help.CLICK TO TWEET

We and our children will fail to keep the law every time. Thankfully, God’s gracious, compassionate, unchangeable, eternal plans never fail. And his Spirit empowers us to live for him. In God’s parenting program, there is freedom and hope for parents and children alike.

Six Gospel Keys to Freedom from Parental Guilt

1.   Learn the redemption story Scripture tells.

Isn’t that a fancy way of saying “Read your Bible”? Why, yes, yes it is. But it’s even better than that. The Holy Spirit actually transforms our hearts as we read. So, let’s listen to Romans 12:2:

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

2.  Pray. Over and Over. Often. Believing that God hears (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

  • When you don’t know which school will help your son with his learning disorder, ask God to show you the way and remind you that he really does have a plan.
  • Ask God for your daughter’s shoulder to heal so she can play college volleyball. If it doesn’t, ask him to give you a bigger picture of the redemption story you are writing in her life.

3.  Repent.

“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord” (Acts 3:19).

  • Drive back to the school with a smiley-face cookie for the boy you left with a harsh word.
  • Call your twenty-year-old and tell her you’re sorry for trying to write her story your way.
  • Admit that parenting does not preclude sinning against your children, and turn back to your Savior for forgiveness.

4.  Forgive.

“As the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive” (Col. 3:13).

  • When the three-year-old tells you he hates you, forgive him.
  • When your previously compliant teenager starts rolling her eyes at everything you suggest, forgive her.

Forgive them, not with your arms folded and a begrudging frown, but as your Father forgives you, tenderly, compassionately, mercifully, with open arms. (Of course, forgiving does not mean excusing! Yes, there are consequences to sin, but we are called to forgive as our Father forgives).

5. Work as a team with your spouse, ex-spouse, and other caregivers.

  • When your husband uses the Shop-vac to clean up a toddler’s vomit while you are at the church retreat, praise his ingenuity!
  • When you bitterly disagree about how to address addiction to video games or addiction to drugs, look to Christ as your reconciler.

At times, it will take hefty doses of humility to live in unity with other caregivers; Christ has shown us the way.

6. Surround yourself with grace-filled community.

  • Make friends who will hit their knees when you call to say your daughter has binged again, or your son has been diagnosed with lymphoma.
  • Thank your children’s hard-working teachers for seeing that your child needs structure and leadership opportunities to keep her explosive energy moving in the right direction.

A Prayer for Guilty Parents

Lord, help us. We need to know the freedom we have in Christ, that we are forgiven for our sins against our children. Please take this burden of guilt we carry, and leave us with the joyful “yoke” of serving you as parents. In Jesus’ perfectly loving name we pray, Amen.

You Are Forgiven: A Father’s Day Story

by | Jun 16, 2020 | Devotional, Parenting

You Are Forgiven: A Father’s Day Story

Today, ahead of Father’s Day, I’m sharing a story I told in The Waiting Room: 60 Meditations for Finding Peace & Hope in a Health Crisis.

My father had been diagnosed with Stage 4 prostate cancer two years before this incident occurred in an oncologist’s waiting room.

You Are Forgiven

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace…

Ephesians 1:7, NIV

One day, in the waiting room of my Dad’s oncologist, I happened to sit next to an (annoying) angel. The very word angel in the Greek indicates a messenger, and this unlikely angel had a message from God for me and my dad.

My dad, who was now immobilized by tumors in his hips, was sitting in a wheelchair facing me. He chose this particular time and place to reveal a crucial piece of information he had previously withheld: his oral chemo pill was no longer defeating the cancer from the prostate, and he had stopped all treatment.

In that moment, I felt undone by rage at my powerlessness to help my dad, so I left my chair and walked to the edge of the crowded waiting room in an effort to calm myself. When I returned, I said quietly to my dad, “You did not tell me the truth when I asked. You told me you were ‘tiptop.’”

He began to make excuses, to explain that he was only thinking of me and the burden I was carrying. I cut him off: “You should have told me.”

At this point the angel entered the story. A sturdy, middle-aged woman, she sat stuffed in the pleather chair connected to mine. Suddenly I felt a pat on my shoulder and heard her speak in a rough, country voice, “It’ll be okay.”

She continued, “Just so long as you know where you’re going, it’s all okay.”

I nodded and looked pointedly at my dad, who frequently fought me on this point. I still wasn’t sure if he was a Christian.

She repeated her message, “Just so long as you know you’re saved. Jesus makes it all okay.”

My dad turned back to me and repeated his apology. “I’m sorry.” No excuses this time.

I still couldn’t look him in the eye. I said, “It’s okay. You’re forgiven. I just wish you had told me.”

The angel in the waiting room was right, even if I wasn’t eager at first to hear her message. That day, both my dad and I needed the comforting knowledge of Ephesians 1:7, the knowledge that Jesus shed actual blood so that we might be forgiven.

I needed forgiveness for my unkindness to my dad. Dad needed a Savior to take the burden of guilt he had carried over a lifetime of unconfessed sin. As the angel had assured us, it would all be “okay” if we believed Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice for us.

Prayer

Precious Lord Jesus, thank you for shedding your blood for us, for bearing God’s wrath on my behalf. Thank you for lifting the burden of our guilt from us. Help us to live and love in the freedom of your forgiveness. Amen.

Further Encouragement

Read 1 Peter 1:18; 1 John 1:7; 2:2.

Listen to “Forgiveness” by Matthew West.

For Reflection: In what ways do you and/or your loved one need to know forgiveness in this season?

If you enjoyed this, would you please share it with someone who might need this encouragement? Thanks!

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