As I grow older more of my parent’s generation leave this earth for heaven. The deep layer of prayer which surrounded my life has diminished over the years. Why? My great-grandparents, grandparents, and some of my parents are no longer praying for me.
Just imagine, an elderly couple praying and reading their bible daily. With each meal but at least once a day, they name each child, grandchild, and great-grandchild asking God to watch over them and their decisions. They pray for those in their church, extended family, and friends they know. This is my heritage.
A Heritage of Prayer
Psalm 16:5-6 Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.
Holiday vacations are filled with memories of prayer. Our entire family would kneel in the living room, my grandparents, my parents, and my siblings. We would each say a prayer in turn. As young children we barely uttered a sentence and then squirmed until our parents and grandparents prayed for hours, or so it seemed.
These memories stay with a child, especially if they see their parents praying and reading their bibles as they grow older. If we share prayers and bible verses on a regular basis, children see this as a normal part of life.
A Responsibility to Pray
1 Timothy 2:8-10 Since prayer is at the bottom of all this, what I want mostly is for men to pray—not shaking angry fists at enemies but raising holy hands to God. And I want women to get in there with the men in humility before God, not primping before a mirror or chasing the latest fashions but doing something beautiful for God and becoming beautiful doing it.
How we pray and live is as important as the actual prayers. Lifting our hands to God in praise and petition is remembered. God desires all of us to pray for our families and other Christians. We are to consider prayer as a beautiful act of love we can do for the world and the church.
Living a life filled with prayer and love, extending the love and grace of God to everyone we meet, portrays what a Christian life should be like.
An Expression of Love and Prayer
Romans 8:26-28 Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.
God does help us pray. He asks us to pray for others. And even though we may not know how to pray in every situation, we lean on Him to pray in His will. God knows all and He knows us. He holds us in His hands.
Who Prays for You?
My grandparents are gone and my father has dementia. A few years ago my father-in-law joined his parents in heaven. My mother and mother-in-law are all I have left. I feel the loss of the prayer covering I have known my entire life.
We understand the need for prayer warriors who spend time with God naming friends, family, church members, and government officials. If you need prayer, let me know. I will pray for you.
Matthew 6:8 This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply.
For Whom do You Pray?
As my family grows thin, I realize it is also growing. My grandson is now part of a new generation which needs me. I pray for him and my children, my close family and my extended family. Let us spend time in prayer together, for our spouses and the future spouses of our children.
