Silas
Beloved of All
Thank you for bringing this burden for the children before the Lord. Your prayer reflects the heart of the Good Shepherd who calls His sheep by name and whose sheep hear His voice. We are indeed His people and the sheep of His pasture, and we can cast all our cares on Him because He cares for us. It is right to sing and give thanks that we have a Shepherd who lays down His life for the flock and who carries the lambs close to His heart, guiding and feeding them and comforting them with His rod and staff so they need not fear.
The Lord Jesus has spoken very seriously about the little ones. He warned that it would be better for a millstone to be hung around a person's neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble, and He said their angels always behold the face of the Father. That shows how precious they are to Him. You are right to ask for His angels to have charge over your children and the children of your extended family and friends, and over all the children among fellow believers. Scripture says the angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and that He gives His angels charge to keep us in all our ways. You are also right to pray that they would know the Holy Scriptures from their youth, for the Scriptures are able to make them wise for salvation through faith in Christ, and that they would be taught by the Lord Himself and come to know the breadth and depth of His love which the Holy Spirit pours into our hearts.
In praying for them, keep the first purpose in view. It is natural to want children to be happy, successful, well educated and to have a good career, but those are not the highest goal. The first and most important desire for every child should be that they would come to know God, walk with Him and serve Him all their days. Education and other good things have their place, but they must not take the place of learning to walk with the Lord. When that foundation is in place, everything else finds its proper order.
There is a special urgency to lift up our hands for the children today. They are growing up surrounded by temptations and influences that seek to harm them. Impurity and violence are widely available and easily seen, even at very young ages, and the culture no longer seeks to shield them. The prophet called the people to lift up their hands to the Lord for the life of their young children who were fainting in the streets, and that call is needed now more than ever. Whether your little ones are near or far away, continued intercession through the power of the Holy Spirit is one of the greatest protections you can give them. Pray that their eyes and ears would be kept from evil and that their minds and bodies would be kept from the evil one.
A wise person sees evil coming and takes refuge. For us that refuge is the provision God has made in Jesus Christ, hiding in Him from judgment and from the power of sin. Part of that wisdom is learning to hate evil as God hates it. Evil always asks to be tolerated and to be accepted a little at a time, and we are tempted to compromise with it. True knowledge begins with turning away from it. Teach the children to depart from evil, to avoid the path of those who do wrong, to turn from it and pass it by and even run from it. Those who practice evil cannot rest unless they have caused someone to fall, and their way is marked by destruction. We should not envy such people or desire to be with them, for a person is known by the company he keeps. We also should not fret because of evildoers. They will be cut off and there will be no lasting reward for the wicked. God has said vengeance belongs to Him and He will repay according to what is right. If we try to defend ourselves in our own strength, we are left to ourselves, but when we commit our cause to Him, He takes up our defense.
So submit yourselves to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you. Put on the whole armor of God and stand in the authority that Jesus has as the risen King to whom all authority in heaven and earth has been given. He is able with a word to deliver and to draw the weary and heavy laden to Himself to give them rest, for His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Trust that He is working all things together for good and for the advance of the gospel according to the counsel of His own will. He will stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of the Lord, and they will dwell securely. There is one flock and one Shepherd, and He will bring in His other sheep so that they hear His voice.
May the Lord keep your children and all the children you have lifted up, cause them to be taught by Him, keep them from stumbling, strengthen and heal any who have been hurt, and fill them with the knowledge of His love. May He purify our hearts as silver is refined when the dross is removed, so that we become vessels fit for His use. And may you rest quietly from the fear of evil, knowing that those who listen to Him shall dwell safely under His care.
The Lord Jesus has spoken very seriously about the little ones. He warned that it would be better for a millstone to be hung around a person's neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble, and He said their angels always behold the face of the Father. That shows how precious they are to Him. You are right to ask for His angels to have charge over your children and the children of your extended family and friends, and over all the children among fellow believers. Scripture says the angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and that He gives His angels charge to keep us in all our ways. You are also right to pray that they would know the Holy Scriptures from their youth, for the Scriptures are able to make them wise for salvation through faith in Christ, and that they would be taught by the Lord Himself and come to know the breadth and depth of His love which the Holy Spirit pours into our hearts.
In praying for them, keep the first purpose in view. It is natural to want children to be happy, successful, well educated and to have a good career, but those are not the highest goal. The first and most important desire for every child should be that they would come to know God, walk with Him and serve Him all their days. Education and other good things have their place, but they must not take the place of learning to walk with the Lord. When that foundation is in place, everything else finds its proper order.
There is a special urgency to lift up our hands for the children today. They are growing up surrounded by temptations and influences that seek to harm them. Impurity and violence are widely available and easily seen, even at very young ages, and the culture no longer seeks to shield them. The prophet called the people to lift up their hands to the Lord for the life of their young children who were fainting in the streets, and that call is needed now more than ever. Whether your little ones are near or far away, continued intercession through the power of the Holy Spirit is one of the greatest protections you can give them. Pray that their eyes and ears would be kept from evil and that their minds and bodies would be kept from the evil one.
A wise person sees evil coming and takes refuge. For us that refuge is the provision God has made in Jesus Christ, hiding in Him from judgment and from the power of sin. Part of that wisdom is learning to hate evil as God hates it. Evil always asks to be tolerated and to be accepted a little at a time, and we are tempted to compromise with it. True knowledge begins with turning away from it. Teach the children to depart from evil, to avoid the path of those who do wrong, to turn from it and pass it by and even run from it. Those who practice evil cannot rest unless they have caused someone to fall, and their way is marked by destruction. We should not envy such people or desire to be with them, for a person is known by the company he keeps. We also should not fret because of evildoers. They will be cut off and there will be no lasting reward for the wicked. God has said vengeance belongs to Him and He will repay according to what is right. If we try to defend ourselves in our own strength, we are left to ourselves, but when we commit our cause to Him, He takes up our defense.
So submit yourselves to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you. Put on the whole armor of God and stand in the authority that Jesus has as the risen King to whom all authority in heaven and earth has been given. He is able with a word to deliver and to draw the weary and heavy laden to Himself to give them rest, for His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Trust that He is working all things together for good and for the advance of the gospel according to the counsel of His own will. He will stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of the Lord, and they will dwell securely. There is one flock and one Shepherd, and He will bring in His other sheep so that they hear His voice.
May the Lord keep your children and all the children you have lifted up, cause them to be taught by Him, keep them from stumbling, strengthen and heal any who have been hurt, and fill them with the knowledge of His love. May He purify our hearts as silver is refined when the dross is removed, so that we become vessels fit for His use. And may you rest quietly from the fear of evil, knowing that those who listen to Him shall dwell safely under His care.
