Pray Without Ceasing: Prayers for my son

     I struggle with fear, it is no secret. I have been through periods in my life where I have been able to surrender my fears and worries to God and allow him control but, as much as I wish it were different, those periods have gotten fewer and farther between. When I became a mother those fears multiplied and threatened to consume me. So how did I manage to crawl out of the closet where I had been hiding with all my fears strapped to me? I didn't, I prayed and my Father cracked open my doors and began sorting through the pitiful pile of worries I had buried myself under. One of my biggest worries is for the wellbeing of my son.

     I have shared in past posts about how my husband and I prayed over our son before he was born and I am reminded daily that I must continue this in his day to day life. How can I, as Kemp's mother, expect to make any significant impact on his life without praying earnestly and steadfastly, believing that God wants him to have a place in His kingdom for His glory? What good is my worrying doing? More than anything I want Kemp to be a member of God's kingdom and live to glorify Him, so prayer becomes my tool to influence my child in an impactful way.

     I have thought and dreamed of many things for Kemp. I wonder what he will grow to be and look forward to the many adventures that lay before him. I have prayed that he will be strong and courageous, loving and kind to those who need it, and that he will have a deep desire to be used by God. One thing that I had not prayed though, was for him to be a servant. I read a lot of good literature through my position at the PRC and one of the things that I find again and again is that we should pray our children become servants. Our mislead goals and values can warp our prayers and what seems best for our child may not be what God has for them. For Kemp to be great, he must be willing to serve others and go out into the world to share Christ. Forbes Robinson, in a letter, wrote: "I want you to be one of the best men that ever lived- to see God and to reveal him to men. This is the burden of my prayers. My whole being goes out in passionate entreaty to God that he will give me what I ask. I am sure he will, for the request is after his own heart. I do not pray that you may succeed in life, or get on in this world. I seldom ever pray that you may love me better, or that I may see you oftener in this or any other world-much as I crave this. But I ask, I implore, that Christ may be formed in you, that you may be made not in any likeness suggested by my imagination, but in the image of God- that you may realize not my, but His ideal- however much that ideal may bewilder me, however little I may recognize it when it is created..." I desire to pray like this for Kemp, even as scary as it is sometimes to fully give him to Christ (more to come on this later).
     As the mother of a young child I wait with bated breath for the day that my son receives salvation. I have agonized and wept in prayer for Kemp to accept Christ, to run to him! I know my father is listening to me and I know my prayers have weight, and I must continue them. I remember the story of Saint Augustine and his faithful mother, Monica. Monica prayed over her son for his salvation and was desperate for the day when he would receive it, but Augustine's father was just as keen to pull him in the other direction. As we know, Saint Augustine did become a Christian and he later wrote: "And now didst thou stretch forth thy hand from above and didst draw up my soul out of that profound darkness because my mother, thy faithful one, wept to thee on my behalf more than mothers are accustomed to weep for the bodily deaths of their children." What a testament to a mother's faithfulness and love! I am called to that for my son as well. Prayer will more than likely be my most effective ministry to my children's lives. I am continually burdened with how incomplete and lacking my prayers sometimes are and am committed to grow through this! I want to pray without ceasing!