Yesterday
I wrote about one way grandparents absolutely can make a real, significant and
important difference in the lives of their grandchildren – they can point them
to Jesus. I shared a simple way we can do this . . . by reading books to and
with our grandchildren and let you know about several of my favorite books I
like to read with my grandsons.
Today
I want to point out another important and essential thing we can do as
grandparents to make a real, significant and important difference in the lives
of our grandchildren . . . we can – and must – pray for and with them.
When we think about praying for our grandchildren,
there are three things for us to focus upon. The first is, if we, as
grandparents, do not pray for our grandchildren, they may not have anyone who
prays faithfully for them on a regular basis. When you think about this, what
do you feel? Now, your grandchildren may have parents and their other
grandparents who pray regularly and faithfully for them, but they may not. If
you do not pray faithfully and regularly for your grandchildren, who will? This
is an important question for you to think about and answer. And, keep in mind,
even if they do have parents and grandparents who pray faithfully and regularly
for them, your grandchildren need you to pray faithfully and regularly for
them.
The second thing for us to think about when it comes
to praying for our grandchildren is for us to tell ourselves the truth, so we
are not side-tracked or derailed by lies. It is so easy for us to believe a very
big lie when it comes to praying. This is the lie which tells us our prayers do
not even make it past the ceiling. The lie which tells us God does not really
hear our prayers. This is absolutely a lie from the pit of Hell. The truth is
God hears, listens to and answers our prayers. This is the truth and throughout
Scripture we read over and over again how God hears, listens to and answers our
prayers. We need to choose to believe the truth and stop letting lies influence
how we pray – or far too often how we do not pray. Hold tightly to the truth
and pray knowing God hears, listens to and answers our prayers!
Finally, the third thing for us to think about when
it comes to praying for our
grandchildren is for us to be intentional about
helping our grandchildren learn to be people who pray. It is important for us
to pray for them faithfully and regularly, but it is also essential for us to
help them learn to be people who pray; people who believe the truth of how God
hears, listens to and answers their prayers, too! Here are some simple ways you
can do this . . .
1. Pray with your grandchildren. This seems pretty
obvious, but it can be too easy to skip doing this. Pray with your
grandchildren at meals – at my house, rather than have just one person pray at
meals, each person at the table has a turn to share something for which they
are thankful, then we all say “Amen” together.
2. Help your grandchildren learn to journal their
prayers. I bought simple notebooks for each of my grandsons and once a week
when they are at my house we pull out their journals and they draw and/or write
how God is answering their prayers and add new prayer requests to their
journals. In the Old Testament we see over and over again how new generations
forgot God and did not remember all He did for them – they did not know Him. It
is essential for us to help our grandchildren learn to watch for what God is
doing in their lives and to help them remember these things. Journaling prayers
and how God answers is a wonderful – and simple – way to do this!
3. Pray a Scripture blessing for your grandchildren.
This could be one passage which remains your blessing throughout your
grandchildren’s lives, or as God puts a new passage on your heart and mind, you
could switch it out from time to time. We have had three passages so far which
have been our Scripture blessing. We pray it together at meals and bedtime –
when they are at our home for sleepovers each week. It is a very powerful thing
to have a Scripture blessing which you speak over your grandchildren and into
their lives.
Along this line, it is powerful to pray Scripture for
your grandchildren as well. What could be a better way to pray for them? Work
your way through Scripture and as a passage stands out to you, pray it for your
grandchildren. Or use resources like my Deeper
In series of books (Deeper In 4Grandparents & Parents, Too! Praying the Scriptures for the Children YouLove – Psalms Edition and OldTestament Edition) These books give you 52 weeks of Scripture prayers,
divided into daily portions to help you pray in a focused and intentional way
for your grandchildren.
These are just a few ways you will make a real,
significant and important difference in the lives of your grandchildren by
praying for them. What do you do to pray for your grandchildren?
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