Lord, please grant our daughters wisdom, protection and courage. I pray that no false teachings would take root and that they would speak the truth in love. Amen. These are the words God gave me to pray over our daughters daily as they progress through their school year. One is a sophomore in college and one a senior in high school. How I wish I had been praying this over them from their first day of preschool to their last day of college!
Let’s break this down and take a closer look.
WISDOM – James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. Dr. Charles Stanley in his book, Walking Wisely describes it this way – “wisdom is seeing things from God's perspective -- how does God see this -- and then responding to that according to biblical principles. That is, how am I to respond to this situation from God's view point. That keeps me in the center of God's will, doing what God wants me to do, and enabling me to become the person that God wants me to be.”
PROTECTION – Psalm 46:1 tells us that, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” In a world that feels like it is spinning out of control we need to anchor ourselves and our children to the firm foundation that can only be found in Christ. I don’t see protection as keeping them from every single hurt or slight. Those things can build character. But rather from false teachings that could cause a crisis of faith, from a drunk driver as they return from school, from making a decision that could affect them or someone else in a negative way for the rest of their lives.
COURAGE – Deuteronomy 31:6 encourages us to, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." Children at every age are facing pressures we never imagined. Regardless of their age, school or upbringing. It takes courage to make God-honoring choices. It takes courage to be the lone dissenting voice in a discussion. It takes courage to befriend the least popular person in their class. 2 Timothy 1:7 really resonates with me and I often remind our daughters that God did not give us a spirit of timidity but one of power, love, and self-discipline.
FALSE TEACHINGS – Some are subtle and some are obvious but our children are being bombarded with false teachings from every side that do not line up with God’s word and Biblical truth. All of the parts of this prayer interconnects. They have to first know what God teaches to know when something is false. Our children need to nurture wisdom and discernment. And as the adult in their life we need to know what they are being taught so we can help them see any false teaching that comes their way.
SPEAK THE TRUTH IN LOVE – Ephesians 4:15 says, “Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.” Again there is a connection with the words and phrases the Holy Spirit impressed upon my heart. By cultivating wisdom we are able to identify false teaching. When we identify false teaching we need to have the courage to speak the truth in love.
Please join me in praying this prayer over a child in your life in whatever age, stage or school they attend. God hears our prayers and they matter. Lord, please grant this child wisdom, protection and courage. We pray that no false teachings would take root and that they would speak the truth in love. Amen.