Silas
Beloved of All
Your prayer reflects a heart that treasures children as Jesus does, and it is right to bring them before the Lord with such urgency and love. Scripture is clear that the little ones are precious to Him. Jesus warned that it would be better for a millstone to be hung around the neck of anyone who causes one of these little ones to stumble, and He said their angels always behold the face of the Father in heaven. From their youth they can know the Holy Scriptures which are able to make them wise unto salvation, and they can know the love of God that was shown to us in that He loved us first and sent His Son.
It is good to ask the Lord as the Good Shepherd to watch over them. He is the One who stands and shepherds His flock in the strength of the Lord, and His people dwell securely. Like a shepherd He carries the lambs in His arms, He feeds His flock and gently leads them, and He comforts with His rod and staff so fear is driven away. He has promised to give His angels charge over those who belong to Him, and that the angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him. It is right to pray that your children, their cousins and friends, and all the children among believers would be kept under that covering, and that the Holy Spirit would shed the love of God abroad in their hearts and strengthen them to know the breadth and depth of that love.
Part of fearing the Lord and walking in wisdom is learning to hate evil as God hates evil. Evil always seeks to be tolerated and asks for compromise, but the beginning of true knowledge is to turn away from it and not make peace with it. The heart that is set on wickedness desires evil and delights in what is perverse, and a person whose eye is toward evil should not be followed or trusted. Scripture warns to be on guard against wolves, even those who may appear as teachers or ministers, and against evil men and impostors who grow worse while deceiving and being deceived. We are not to fret or envy them, for there is no lasting reward for the evil way and its light will be put out.
We also must not justify evil. When there is no regard for God's law and His rule, people will justify every kind of wrong, and one of the weakest excuses is to say God made me this way. Evil cannot be justified before God. History shows how often His people did evil in His sight, forgot Him and followed the gods and practices around them, including the terrible pagan rites that even involved the sacrifice of children, and how that brought oppression until they cried out and He delivered them. That attraction to what is sensuous and shocking, even while it horrifies, still draws the fallen heart, which is why we must depart from evil and teach our children to do the same.
God designed the family to be a place of security and stability where children are loved and nourished, and there is no greater joy than to hear that children are walking in truth. That is why praying that they will be fed with wisdom and knowledge, and shepherded by faithful men and women who watch over the flock, is so important. Honor the Lord and submit to Him, resist the devil and he will flee, and put on the whole armor of God so that their minds and bodies are kept from the evil one and from evil people.
We join you in casting all your cares on Him because He cares for you and for your sheep who hear His voice. We ask Him to keep these little ones from seeing, hearing, and speaking evil, to heal any who have been hurt, to draw the weary to find rest in His easy yoke, and to work all things together for good according to the counsel of His will and for the furtherance of the gospel. We trust the promise that the church built upon Christ the Messiah will prevail against the gates of hell, and that as we submit to God His power is sufficient with only a word to deliver and to keep.
It is good to ask the Lord as the Good Shepherd to watch over them. He is the One who stands and shepherds His flock in the strength of the Lord, and His people dwell securely. Like a shepherd He carries the lambs in His arms, He feeds His flock and gently leads them, and He comforts with His rod and staff so fear is driven away. He has promised to give His angels charge over those who belong to Him, and that the angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him. It is right to pray that your children, their cousins and friends, and all the children among believers would be kept under that covering, and that the Holy Spirit would shed the love of God abroad in their hearts and strengthen them to know the breadth and depth of that love.
Part of fearing the Lord and walking in wisdom is learning to hate evil as God hates evil. Evil always seeks to be tolerated and asks for compromise, but the beginning of true knowledge is to turn away from it and not make peace with it. The heart that is set on wickedness desires evil and delights in what is perverse, and a person whose eye is toward evil should not be followed or trusted. Scripture warns to be on guard against wolves, even those who may appear as teachers or ministers, and against evil men and impostors who grow worse while deceiving and being deceived. We are not to fret or envy them, for there is no lasting reward for the evil way and its light will be put out.
We also must not justify evil. When there is no regard for God's law and His rule, people will justify every kind of wrong, and one of the weakest excuses is to say God made me this way. Evil cannot be justified before God. History shows how often His people did evil in His sight, forgot Him and followed the gods and practices around them, including the terrible pagan rites that even involved the sacrifice of children, and how that brought oppression until they cried out and He delivered them. That attraction to what is sensuous and shocking, even while it horrifies, still draws the fallen heart, which is why we must depart from evil and teach our children to do the same.
God designed the family to be a place of security and stability where children are loved and nourished, and there is no greater joy than to hear that children are walking in truth. That is why praying that they will be fed with wisdom and knowledge, and shepherded by faithful men and women who watch over the flock, is so important. Honor the Lord and submit to Him, resist the devil and he will flee, and put on the whole armor of God so that their minds and bodies are kept from the evil one and from evil people.
We join you in casting all your cares on Him because He cares for you and for your sheep who hear His voice. We ask Him to keep these little ones from seeing, hearing, and speaking evil, to heal any who have been hurt, to draw the weary to find rest in His easy yoke, and to work all things together for good according to the counsel of His will and for the furtherance of the gospel. We trust the promise that the church built upon Christ the Messiah will prevail against the gates of hell, and that as we submit to God His power is sufficient with only a word to deliver and to keep.
