Praying Circles around your Children

[The Forge]

This book offers great insight, suggestions, and Scriptural references to strengthen your prayer life for your kids. Share your thoughts, takeaways, and suggestions here as you read!

[The Forge]

If you would like a copy of the book send an email to: theforge...@gmail.com

[The Forge]

Chapters 1 & 2 dive right in to how we must be "prayerful" parents, with great lessons, reminders, and challenges. Looking forward to the next 7 chapters as well!

Ch 1 - The Greatest Legacy You Can Leave

• Words & actions to remember & model
  • learn, enjoy, pray for your kids daily, apologize, prayer genealogy, design, desire, discipline, legacy
• Prayer turns and tunes our hearts to God
  • If we make the effort to create a rhythm of prayer for AND with our kids, the impact has generational implications

Ch 2 - The Legend of the Circle Maker - 

• "To pray or not to pray - these are the only options"
• shift your prayers from "ASAP" to "ALAT" (as long as it takes)
• "prayer is the way we fight our battles"

As you read through these first 2 chapters, challenge yourself to take a bold step forward in your prayer life for your kids. The prayers your pray for your kids are shaping their children's children, how cool is that?!

[mrmarkman511]

The concept of a prayer genealogy is something I'd never heard of, and it's a shift in mindset for me. Rather than praying only for what's "right in front of me" like good health and safety for my kids, or that they would be kind to others (which I still believe are worthwhile prayers), I come to God with prayers for my girls' hearts and how they will be shaped by their faith. 

With the help of my wife, I've begun to pray with my kids more often and share more of what I'm praying over their lives. My daily prayer for them is that they would know, seek, and share the Love of God as they grow. As Batterson states numerous times in his book, and I'll wholeheartedly attest to myself, not every prayer results in an "epiphany". But, I firmly believe the seeds planted from those times of prayer and conversations that follow will have long-lasting impact.

My default when life gets busy is to try to seize control...I doubt I'm alone in this, and I'm nowhere near overcoming or mastering it. But, prayer and accountability with my family and friends are critically important in recognizing when I've misplaced my priorities. Batterson writes that "prayer is the difference between you fighting for God and God fighting for you." It often feels easier to just make a plan and go, but in doing so I discount the power and provision the Father offers. I'm reminding myself this week of the power that prayer holds - for my own faith, and the faith of my family, both now and in generations to follow.

[The Forge]

Chapter 3 reminds us in no uncertain terms that parenting is a prayer-centric endeavor, and we have both the responsibility and opportunity to "fan into flame the gift of God that is in [our children]."

Chapter 3

• "Energy divided, but joy multiplied"...what a simple way to capture the experience of raising kids!
• Loving our kids uniquely - their passions and personalities shape their love languages and response to discipline (certainly one of the challenging aspects of how we Father our children, as it requires prayerful consideration despite the default of reaction to our kids' behavior)
• "we have a Heavenly Father who compensates for our deficiencies, weaknesses, and mistakes"
• "you cannot delegate discipleship any more than you can delegate prayer"
• turning the lessons of this book into prayer habits (spiritual discipline) requires effort...how are you holding yourself accountable to pray over your kids daily?

Wherever you're at in your day, take a moment to reflect in prayer on the lessons and ideas from this chapter. And then take it a step further and talk to someone about what you've learned and how you're implementing it in your life!

[Matt Markman]

What I love about this book so far is every reminder, challenge, and opportunity that arises reinforces the simple truth that I've been given the keys to my kids' hearts and future. I'll be the first to admit that there's days I lose those keys, or just leave them behind, but I'm always reminded to go back and pick them up. Ephesians 2:10 says:

"For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

To believe this verse and reflect it in my actions, I have to be intentional with my spiritual disciplines - namely, prayer! We recently got our girls prayer journals and started a family prayer board and it's been one of the greatest joys of my days to hear my kids talk to their Heavenly Father. Often times their prayers reflect the tone and style of mine and my wife's prayers, which is a good reminder that they see and hear much of what we as parents do.

I've found writing my prayers to be impactful, and also that it leads to discussions about those prayers with my wife, who is my ultimate accountability partner as we raise our girls.

[The Forge]

Chapter 4 takes us into the first circle - Circling the Promises of God. Batterson kicks off the chapter stating we must "know [our] children and know Scripture", which sets the stage for much of the rest of the chapter and book.

Chapter 4

• "know your children and know Scripture" - simple concept with lots of challenges...accountability helps here
• "We need to intercede for our children." - If we as Fathers don't then there's no guarantee anyone else will...it's our calling, responsibility, and privilege to do so
• to get the promises of God into our kids' spirit and subconscious they need to hear those promises from us as parents on a consistent basis
• Philippians 4:6-7 should be figuratively (or maybe literally) written on each of our foreheads so we don't forget - prayer is too important to leave out
• "When you pray the word of God...you continually upgrade your conscience so it is fine-tuned to the Holy Spirit"

There's no question when it comes to the power and necessity of prayer. If we don't model it for our kids, utilize it for our kids, and talk about it with our kids, we roll the dice on their future. Prayer is a manifestation of love for our children and the Father has given us everything we need to make it happen!

[Matt Markman]

The charge to "know your children and know Scripture" hits me right between the eyes. I can look back and see many times I responded to my kids' behavior in a way that wasn't Godly, and didn't build them up in any way. As I've let the Lord lead my parenting more over the past few years, I'm reminded often of how God's presence is often relative to my time in the Word - not because He only shows up when I read, but because my heart is so much more open and receptive of His presence when I choose intentional time with Him. In much the same way, I'm far more aware of what my kids need to hear and see from me when I make intentional time a priority. Prayer time with them is one of the ways we've done that as a family, and I believe that when my kids get to hear my wife and I pray over them, it changes the understanding of prayer in a way that makes it more real to them.

I love the phrasing of being "fine-tuned to the Holy Spirit". It reminds me of Jesus' parable of the sower. Matthew 13:23 tells us:

'"But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

It's a good reminder for me that I'm stewarding my children and play a big role in what they "produce". I believe what they "produce" in this life starts with the Truth I surround them with, and the encouragement they hear in the prayers my wife and I pray for and over them.

[The Forge]

Chapter 5 is titled "Making Prayer Lists", and it calls us to action in our prayers over our kids. The "action" piece can be tough - and we can all list countless excuses for missing the mark here, but it's better to swallow our pride and humbly ask God to help us step into the prayers that will shape our kids' futures.

• Prayer is "about discovering God's agenda for us", and it requires "specificity, intentionality, and consistency"
• One of the prayers Batterson shares says "Lord, let their ears be tuned to the still small voice of the Holy Spirit." He then follows this prayer with the statement that "if [our children] don't hear the voice of God, they will echo our culture." - those sentences on their own offer lots to consider and pray over with and for our kids
• "One of the keys to prayer is speaking in the language your kids understand." - whether it's prayer posters, lunchbox notes, texts of encouragement, or something else, we know our kids best, and have the privilege and responsibility to pray over them, with them, and for them

"Pray" is a verb, and if we as Fathers are truly invested in our kids' faith and future there's no question about the action required. This chapter offers an opportunity to consider the character of your children, and  how to connect with them in prayer as you speak God's promises over them.

[Matt Markman]

I love the word "intentionality", and it's the first word that comes to mind in reading this chapter. It's so easy for me to be lazy with my prayers, just going through the motions and essentially forgetting that I'm talking to the creator of the Heavens and Earth! I believe in the power of persistent prayers, and also believe any day that includes prayer time is better than one that doesn't. However, I find that when my prayers contain "specificity, intentionality, and consistency" as Batterson outlines in this chapter, I'm more tuned into God's will in and through my life.

When I'm tuned into God's will in and through my life, I can more effectively pray over my kids. What's more, I can more effectively pray with my kids. Sharing conversations with God with my kids has created conversations that challenge me in my faith, and as a Dad. I realize when my 5 year old asks me something I don't know how to answer that my job isn't to know everything, but rather point to the one who holds our hope - to be clear, this happens often, so either my 5 year old is a genius, or I just have a lot to learn! I'm encouraged by the power of prayer in my life and for my kids, but I struggle with consistency in being intentional at times; slowing down to hear God's voice and let him direct my prayers is something I'm asking God for help with, and trusting Him for that is stretching my faith over and over again.