Grandparenting with a Purpose: Effective Ways to Pray for your Grandchildren
Does the song, “I’ll be home for Christmas” ¹ Frank Sinatra made famous in the ’50s, make you blue and gloomy because you are not going to see all of your children and grandchildren during this Christmas season make you sad? Grandparents love to be with their loved ones to celebrate Christmas, the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. My husband and I will miss several of our family members this year, so we can identify with you if you are disappointed. The current COVID pandemic is changing many of our plans for Christmas.
However, in my winter morning routine, I like to sit by the fire, have a cup of tea, and read from my favorite devotional book, Jesus Calling by Sarah Young. She reminds me of the precious gift of God’s presence in my life and the peace that is available to fill my deepest longings when my focus is on Him.
God never meant for us to be self-sufficient. He designed us to need Him so we will stay close to Him and be complete in Him. He is sitting at the right hand of God, waiting for us to bring our lonely heavy hearts to Him to experience His peace, which only He can give.
Very often, I want to figure out how to solve my issues. Sometimes I try to bury or deny my neediness by pacifying my longings for people or possessions. God carefully designed our hopes and feelings of incompleteness to point us to Him to weather the storms of life.
Sarah Young writes, “When your focus is broad enough to include Me I(Jesus) in your thoughts, you feel safe and complete. When your perception narrows so that problems or details fill your consciousness, you feel empty and incomplete.” ²
During the Christmas season, we often hear Isaiah 9:6, “For to us a Child is born, and He will be called Wonderful Counselor.” A counselor is an adviser, an advocate, or one who gives guidance and instruction. With the promise of Jesus as our counselor, ask yourself, “What need am I holding in my heart, that I can trust God for guidance today?”
As believers in Jesus Christ, we have the privilege to wrap our neediness, our concerns, our loneliness, and our worries in a package, place a bow on it, and give it to Jesus this Christmas. He is waiting to receive our package so He can provide us with a gift of His peace, which will be beyond our comprehension.
Prayer: Dear Father, I want to come to you with all my neediness. Forgive me for trying to bury and deny my thoughts and feelings, pacifying my deepest wishes with people or possessions. Help me to focus my thoughts on You so I will be aware of your presence. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
¹ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pk-SLQPYJ0
² Sarah Young, Jesus Calling (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2004). p 358.
PS: I have developed “Scriptures to Pray for your Teen Grandchildren.” Many grandparents are using the “Scriptures to pray for your Teen Grandchildren.” Just by joining the mailing list to receive my grandparenting blogs and prayer suggestions, sign up on this page’s right side. I will send you a free downloadable copy of “Scriptures to Pray for your Teen Grandchildren.” If you already are on my Blog mailing request, send me an email requesting the Prayer card for Teens.
Written by Lillian Penner, Prayer Director for Christian Grandparenting Network, pennerlp@gmail.com
Dear Lillian,
I am a new follower to your blog and I’m writing to thank you for your post on the answer to a Blue Christmas. This is so perfectly written for grandparents given the circumstances of this 2020 Christmas. I can’t deny that this has been an emotionally difficult season for me.
I read Jesus Calling everyday as one of my daily devotions and have come to realize that Jesus’ presence has been the anchor for me through this difficult time of not seeing my grandchildren (who happen to live across the globe). During this quiet, reflective time, I’ve learned to embrace gratitutude, to be hopeful and to walk in faith.
Many people ask me; how can I be so strong, living so far away from my grandchildren. I tell them, I have a strong faith and I have the privilege to pray for them.
“But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us” 2 Cor: 4:7.
I will soon be ordering your book.
God bless.
Bette
Dear Bette,
Thank you so much for your encouraging comments. I am happy to hear that the blogs bless your heart, calling. It has been my lifeline since January 2011. Yes, it is only Jesus who will carry us through these difficult and uncertain times in which e live. Our grandchildren are in need of intentional prayer as well as their parents.
May God bless you richly as you trust Him for 2021.
Lillian Penner