The Greatest Prayer Ever Prayed

It was Sunday evening, January 23, 1994, and I did not want to go church. Sunday mornings have a way of wearing me out. Maybe it's the 250 plus preschoolers and 130 plus volunteers that do it to me. Ministry can be a joy but at the same time exhausting. I remember because I sat at the back of the Worship Center. I did not want anyone to see me and I most certainly did not want to talk to anyone. Hmm...godly attitude. Little did I know that on this particular night the Pastor would deliver a message that would forever change my life. The title of the message was, "The Greatest Prayer Ever Prayed." He shared from John chapter 17. This is an amazing passage of scripture. In verses 1 - 5 Jesus prays for Himself. In verses 6 - 19 He prays for His disciples. And in verses 20 - 26 He prays for us...for all Christians throughout the age. The focus of his message was on verses 6 - 19. From this text, Pastor gave us 7 things that we can pray for our children and our family. I remember thinking to myself, what if? What if I took this prayer and began praying it over my husband and for myself. What might the Lord choose to do with us? We had our first child in 1997 and I continued to pray this prayer over her as well. Somewhere along the way, I lost this pray. I looked everywhere for it and then eventually I forgot about it. One day I was talking with a sweet, godly lady in our church. She was telling me about her children and their mission endeavours. I was amazed. I know her kids and I know they are remarkable children. I asked her what her secret was. Would you believe she told me John 17. She said, I pray this prayer for them everyday. WOW. I went to church the next day and asked our resource man to help me find this sermon. He found it. It is in my desk even as I write. (in cassette form) So here it is in summation...The prayer Jesus prayed for His disciples, the prayer I pray for my family almost daily.

1. Pray they would glorify God.
2. Pray they would know Him.
3. Pray they would acknowledge that everything they have is from God.
4. Pray they would be one with the Father and with each other.
5. Pray that His joy would be made full in them.
6. Pray that God will keep them from evil.
7. Pray that they would be world changers.

A few other things I add to my prayer for my children are..

1. That they would grow to love God, love His Church and love His word and that God would bring men into their lives that will do the same.
2. That they would run from evil, from things that dishonor God and they would be drawn to things that please God...things that are holy, pure and righteous.

I am constantly messing up as a parent. But this is one thing I get right. We have to parent from our knees. And who knows... who knows how God might choose to answer our prayers.

This is all part of my journey today.