Intentional, Deliberate, Precise Prayers for Our Children! Are you praying for their future?

Adriane and Me
(I think I was pregnant with Katie and she was pregnant with Evie)

Here lately I've been thinking a lot about my kids.  I get so tired and so stressed and I have days where I feel like all I do is yell at them.  Don't jump off of that; Don't hit your sister; Don't talk to me that way; No, you cannot have another snack!  Do you know what I'm talking about? 

For the last several days I've been trying my hardest to be more patient with them, to listen more to them, to spend more time with them and to spend more time praying for them. 

Do you pray earnestly for your children?  Do you pray with intentional prayers?  I have been thinking about and praying for my kids and their futures since before they were born.  Who will they marry?  What will they become?  God knew them before they were ever conceived.  He knows what their futures will be, but I don't.  As their mother, all I can do is pray that God's will would be done in their lives.  I have always prayed for my children and prayed for their salvation and prayed for their future mates.  However, I found something today I wanted to share with you.

I have this friend.  Her name is Adriane.  She is a wonderful, godly, wife to Matthew and mother to 7 boys and 1 sweet girl!  (And a wonderful friend.)  Several years ago, Adriane and I exchanged prayer lists so we could pray for each other's requests.  Today I was cleaning out a drawer and I found Adriane's prayer list.  As I read it, I got teary.  There's a whole section of prayer requests for her children.  I want to share this with you because I want you to pray for your children like this, too.  It's intentional, it's deliberate and it's precise.  These are the the ways we prayed for her children:

• For their salvation and that they would love the Lord with all their heart, mind and soul.
• That they would be free from addictions of any kind.
• That they would be kept physically safe from anyone who tried to harm them.
• That they would be pure.
• That they would have strong marriages and that none of them would have to suffer the pain of divorce.
• That they and their spouses would be pure and holy.
• That they would be willing to die for their faith, but never have to.
• That they would have safety and good health
• That they would love their neighbors as themselves.
• That every child and generation that comes from her womb would be saved.
• That they would collectively reach millions for Christ.

Wow!  Sometimes we get caught up in the day to day!  Sometimes we focus on all the things our kids do that annoys each other or how many times they've jumped off the couch.  I am not saying those things are good.  As godly parents we should discipline our children.  But, each day, we need to take time as their mothers, to remember these blessings we've been given.  We need to nurture them, praise them, encourage them and pray for them as if they were the next Billy Graham or the next Hudson Taylor.  Our jobs as mommas is to love them and raise them for their future.  Love them today for who they are and pray intentionally, deliberately and precisely for what they will become!