Pass on a Heritage of Faith - Prayer: Focused & Unceasing

I talk a fair amount about passing on a heritage of faith; there are reasons for this. First of all, because I believe it is what God wants me to do based on Deuteronomy 6 . . . 

"The Lord your God has directed me to teach you his commands, rules and laws. Obey them in the land you will take over when you go across the Jordan River. 2 Then you, your children and their children after them will honor the Lord your God as long as you live. Obey all his rules and commands I’m giving you. If you do, you will enjoy long life. 3 Israel, listen to me. Make sure you obey me. Then things will go well with you. The number of your people will increase greatly in a land that has plenty of milk and honey. That’s what the Lord, the God of your parents, promised you. 4 Israel, listen to me. The Lord is our God. The Lord is the one and only God.5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love him with all your strength. 6 The commandments I give you today must be in your hearts. 7 Make sure your children learn them. Talk about them when you are at home. Talk about them when you walk along the road. Speak about them when you go to bed. And speak about them when you get up. 8 Write them down and tie them on your hands as a reminder. Also tie them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses. Also write them on your gates."

I believe with all my heart God wants me to make sure my children and grandchildren learn Who God is and come to love Him with their all. I want my grandsons to know, love and walk with God all of their lives. I have a, "job" to do; pass on a heritage of faith by helping them learn about God and His amazing love and grace. I want them to see this in my life and hear about it when I talk with them.

I also talk about passing on a heritage of faith because I hope in doing so, I can encourage you to do the same with your grandchildren/children. As I have said before, we grandparents know something which parents may miss. We know how very quickly our grandchildren not only will grow up, but are growing up. We know it will seem like we have barely "turned around" and these sweet children will be grown. It matters so very much what we do with them, what we say to them while they are little. This is easy for parents to miss, or lose sight of in the day-in day-out living of their everyday lives. It can be oh, so hectic when children are little and life with children is ever so busy.

It matters what we do, now. It matters what we say, now. As grandparents we do have a job to do; our job is NOT finished when our children are grown. We can make an impact. We can be used by God to help our dear grandchildren come to know, love and walk with God; what could possibly be more important for us to do?

So, how do we do this? I believe it begins with being committed to be people of prayer who are focused on praying unceasingly for our grandchildren. What should we pray for? Well, I pray for my grandsons to know, love and walk with God. I pray for God to draw them to Him, to open their eyes so they see the truth and are not deceived by Satan and for God to protect them from the evil one. Yes, I am focused in my prayers and I do pray this unceasingly for them.

And, to help you pray for your grandchildren, here is one of my prayers where I personalized Deuteronomy 6 -

"Dear God, on this day I ask You to please help me love You with all my heart and with all my soul and with all my strength, so my grandchildren will be able to see what this looks like. Please draw them to You, so they will love You this way, too. Please cause Your word to be on my heart so I think about You and Your word when I sit at home, when I walk along the road, when I lie down and when I get up. When I am with my grandchildren, please help me be so in tune with You, I will be able to talk with them and connect our everyday life to You. Dear God I want to remember You and all You did for me! Please help me remember You when I am living in the place where You have put me. It is my prayer, my life will show my grandchildren how You have blessed me. I want to fear You, My LORD, my God and serve only You. Please open my grandchildren's eyes so they see and fear You. Dear God please help me stay focused, so I do not allow anything to be more important to me than You. I want to keep Your Word and do what is right and good in Your sight. Please help my life shout without words how much I love You, so my grandchildren will see this and want to keep Your, Word, too. Thank You for Your love for us; I love You, too! Amen!"