Families have a Tremendous Need for Prayer Part #2 of #3

How to I learned to Pray for my Grandchildren 

Early in my life, I felt my prayers were too general for my family, I asked God to give me wisdom and insight on how I could pray more intentionally. I discovered praying God’s Word was a great resource to help me to pray not only for my grandchildren and their parents but also for myself.  

When I pray according to God’s Word, I am in line with His will, enabling me to pray with confidence, direction, power, and wisdom according to Hebrews 4:12, “The Word of God is full of living power.” I have found it helpful to spend time in God’s Word to know his promises and commands because my mind is renewed to think His thoughts. His Word helps me to see the needs for which I am praying from His perspective. 

As I started claiming God’s promises and personalizing the scriptures, I experienced more boldness and confidence in my praying. I believe that nothing threatens the enemy (Satan) more than when we are intentionally praying God’s Word. 

Our finite minds just cannot grasp God’s infinite ways of answering our prayers since He doesn’t answer our prayers according to our agenda. We have no idea how many times He is waiting for the proper time to answer our prayers because He needs to work in our hearts, or the other person before He can answer our prayers. When we get discouraged and impatient, we have to remind ourselves that God’s agenda is always perfect, since He knows what is best for us. 

Results – Promises

The seeds of prayer we sow today will yield a harvest of blessing in the future. As we seek the Lord ourselves and invest in our own walk with the Lord, we are investing spiritually in our families, and future generations, by laying a foundation of treasures in heaven for them.  

God has placed our children and grandchildren in our lives so we can pray they to have an authentic faith in Jesus Christ and live wholeheartedly for him. He has given my husband and me the excellent opportunity to partner with Him on behalf of our 3 sons, 3 daughters-in-law, 12 specific grandchildren, and 4 great-granddaughters. He has given you the opportunity to invest in your family members with an intentional prayer on your journey. 

Our children and grandchildren are our mission field and our responsibility so they will not be helpless before their spiritual enemy.  A family’s faith can be lost in one generation Scripture tells us; however, we as parents and grandparents have the opportunity to powerfully touch the lives of another generation for Jesus Christ. 

My prayer is that you will experience God’s most abundant blessings as you grandparent with a purpose, as you invest in the spiritual lives of your children, grandchildren, and future generations.   

The most precious gift we can give our families is to show them how they can have a personal relationship and live wholeheartedly for Him.

“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children and grandchildrenare walking with the Lord” 3 John verse 4

PS: It is crucial for us to pray specifically and individually for our families. Next week I will share suggestions of how to pray for them in the various stages of life—infants, toddlers, elementary-age, teenagers, young adults, and married grandchildren.

By Lillian Penner, Co-prayer Director for Christian Grandparenting Network, pennerlp@gmail.com