Silas
Beloved of All
Your burden for these little ones reflects the heart of Jesus Himself, and it is right to bring them before Him in prayer. Scripture is very clear about how precious children are to God. Jesus said it would be better for a person to have a millstone hung around his neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble, and He said their angels always behold the face of the Father in heaven. Children are a heritage from the Lord, and He calls us to pray for their protection and to teach them His Word from their youth, so that they may know the Holy Scriptures which are able to make them wise for salvation through faith in Christ.
We join you in thanking God for Christ our Good Shepherd. He lays down His life for the sheep, He carries the lambs in His arms, He leads them beside still waters and restores the soul, and His rod and staff comfort and protect them. We ask Him to shepherd your children, their cousins, friends and extended family, and all the children among fellow believers, to feed them with wisdom and knowledge and to shed His love abroad in their hearts by the Holy Spirit.
God has also given us practical wisdom for guarding the young. The prudent person sees evil coming and hides himself, and that hiding place is the provision God has made for us in Jesus Christ. Part of that prudence is to train up a child in the way he should go, grounding him early in the truth of Scripture and in the love of God shown to us in Christ. It also means we are to depart from evil and to remove our feet from it. We are told not to walk in the way of evil people, to avoid it, to turn from it and pass on. This is not about a superstitious evil eye, but about people whose minds and ways are perverse, who speak perverse things and whose path leads to darkness. We are not to share close fellowship or eat the bread of those who have an eye toward evil, but to keep our eyes looking straight ahead on the paths of the Lord and to keep our lips from perverse speech.
You are right to pray for angelic protection, for God gives His angels charge over His people and the angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him. He is our refuge and fortress. At the same time we do not need to live in fear or fret because of evil men. Scripture tells us not to fret ourselves because of evildoers, for they shall be cut off and the Lord will deal with them in His time. History shows how seriously God takes the harming of the innocent. When nations gave their own children to be burned in the fire for their idols, God brought judgment upon those practices to protect the innocent from being destroyed. He still sees and He still defends.
So we continue to submit ourselves to God and to resist the devil, trusting the promise that he will flee. We put on the armor of God, we pray for the Holy Spirit to strengthen these little ones and those who care for them, parents, aunts and uncles, babysitters and all who watch over them, that they may have discernment to guard against wolves and against evil and deceptive people, even when such people claim to be spiritual. We pray for healing for any young one who has been hurt, and for power through the Spirit to know the breadth and depth of Christ's love.
We ask the Lord to keep their minds and bodies from the evil one, to keep their eyes and ears from evil, to draw the weary and heavy laden to Himself to find rest, and to work all things together for good according to the counsel of His will and for the furtherance of the gospel. The church that Jesus builds upon the truth of who He is as the Messiah will prevail against the gates of hell.
We thank God in advance for His care, trusting that as we cast all our cares upon Him, He cares for us and for our children. May the Lord keep them, cause them to dwell securely under His strength, and bring them to know and love His Word all their days. In the authority and Name of Jesus we pray, Amen.
We join you in thanking God for Christ our Good Shepherd. He lays down His life for the sheep, He carries the lambs in His arms, He leads them beside still waters and restores the soul, and His rod and staff comfort and protect them. We ask Him to shepherd your children, their cousins, friends and extended family, and all the children among fellow believers, to feed them with wisdom and knowledge and to shed His love abroad in their hearts by the Holy Spirit.
God has also given us practical wisdom for guarding the young. The prudent person sees evil coming and hides himself, and that hiding place is the provision God has made for us in Jesus Christ. Part of that prudence is to train up a child in the way he should go, grounding him early in the truth of Scripture and in the love of God shown to us in Christ. It also means we are to depart from evil and to remove our feet from it. We are told not to walk in the way of evil people, to avoid it, to turn from it and pass on. This is not about a superstitious evil eye, but about people whose minds and ways are perverse, who speak perverse things and whose path leads to darkness. We are not to share close fellowship or eat the bread of those who have an eye toward evil, but to keep our eyes looking straight ahead on the paths of the Lord and to keep our lips from perverse speech.
You are right to pray for angelic protection, for God gives His angels charge over His people and the angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him. He is our refuge and fortress. At the same time we do not need to live in fear or fret because of evil men. Scripture tells us not to fret ourselves because of evildoers, for they shall be cut off and the Lord will deal with them in His time. History shows how seriously God takes the harming of the innocent. When nations gave their own children to be burned in the fire for their idols, God brought judgment upon those practices to protect the innocent from being destroyed. He still sees and He still defends.
So we continue to submit ourselves to God and to resist the devil, trusting the promise that he will flee. We put on the armor of God, we pray for the Holy Spirit to strengthen these little ones and those who care for them, parents, aunts and uncles, babysitters and all who watch over them, that they may have discernment to guard against wolves and against evil and deceptive people, even when such people claim to be spiritual. We pray for healing for any young one who has been hurt, and for power through the Spirit to know the breadth and depth of Christ's love.
We ask the Lord to keep their minds and bodies from the evil one, to keep their eyes and ears from evil, to draw the weary and heavy laden to Himself to find rest, and to work all things together for good according to the counsel of His will and for the furtherance of the gospel. The church that Jesus builds upon the truth of who He is as the Messiah will prevail against the gates of hell.
We thank God in advance for His care, trusting that as we cast all our cares upon Him, He cares for us and for our children. May the Lord keep them, cause them to dwell securely under His strength, and bring them to know and love His Word all their days. In the authority and Name of Jesus we pray, Amen.
