Promises & Prayers to Help You Pray for & With Your ChildrenSample

 Planting Seeds of Hunger for God

The Bible says that when Hannah took her little son, Samuel, to serve in the Temple, Samuel did not yet even know the Lord. As a young boy, Samuel ministered to the Lord not out of a personal relationship with Him, but because it was what he had been taught to do. It was not until the Lord called to him for the fourth time one night that his personal relationship with God began. Suddenly, all the training Samuel had received, all the moments he had spent in God’s presence in practical service and worship, must have made sense to him.

As parents and grandparents, we certainly want to avoid creating empty religious rituals devoid of meaning for our children to follow. When they are young, however, we do have a pivotal role in training them in the ways of loving and worshiping God. Even before they are old enough to understand spiritual things completely, we can teach them what personal devotion to God looks like. We do this by modeling it in our own lives, as well as by putting it in place in our homes and in our corporate church life. In this way, we set our children up with the momentum that encourages them to seek the things of God as their relationship with Him grows.

David raised his son Solomon with purpose and destiny in mind, urging the boy to get wisdom and get understanding, whatever the cost. David was planting seeds of hunger for wisdom in his son and teaching him what to prioritize. This teaching was so ingrained in Solomon that when the Lord asked him to choose anything he wanted, he answered by asking for an understanding heart. Solomon was able to respond the way he did because David had trained him with destiny in mind.

As parents, we prepare our children with training that carries great significance for their future. Our instruction prepares them to make choices they may not otherwise have been able to make without the training for it. Like David, we get to plant seeds of hunger in our children by preparing them with their destiny and purpose in mind. We do this through our prayer, teaching, and encouragement. We then have the privilege of watching God respond to their readiness by giving them amazing opportunities as they step into their destiny as world-changers and history makers.

Father, help me teach ___ the ways of loving and worshiping You. Help me guide ___ without causing exasperation. I want ___ to be so familiar with Your ways, Holy Spirit, that an infrastructure of Your presence is built in Your child’s heart. Help me lead ___ by example so that I can say with confidence, “Follow me, and the God of peace will be with you.” Holy Spirit, help me see every opportunity for instructing ___ in the ways of God so that all of heaven’s opportunities would be poured out on this child.

For Time with Your Child

Ask: What kinds of things do you think Samuel had to learn as a boy in order to minister to the Lord? What helps you when you are trying to learn something?

Pray: God, I want to learn and practice all the ways of loving and worshiping You.

Declare: I am being trained to be a warrior for God!

Do: Think of some ways that together, you could pour out your love to God and worship Him.