Significant, but not Soverign

Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. – Philippians 1:6

I’ve been reading a book about praying scripture over your children and have been incorporating it for all those on my prayer list. Sometimes there are issues that seem to take much longer for results to appear. It can become frustrating and there have been times that I have cried out to God because I’m at a loss of even how to pray for them.

It’s in those moments of prayer that I’m learning to give them to God. He knows exactly what is needed and He knows what they will respond too. That is a hard prayer to pray because it demands a willingness for me to allow them to experience the consequences of their choices. Selfishly, I’ve resisted this prayer because it may also cause me to experience the consequences of their choices.

There are many lessons to be learned in this kind of praying. It’s a reminder that while my prayers for my family, friends and everyone else is significant, it’s God who is sovereign. As the book stated, “It’s ultimately the Holy Spirit’s heart work, not (my) hard work, that produces Christlike character in our loved ones. And when we pray for them, we acknowledge that truth – and we invite God to do stuff we can’t.”

When we pray for God to work in the lives of those we pray for, we can trust His promise that He will carry it on to completion. Finshed. Done.

A few of the suggested scriptures to pray are as follows:

“Cause _____________ to fear you, Lord. Give him/her wisdom and understanding.” – Proverbs 9:10

“Give ____________ a heart that is quick to repent. May _________ return to You and find grace and compassion and love. – Joel 2:13

“Make ___________ alert and of sober mind. The enemy prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Help ____________ to resist the devil and stand firm in the faith.” – 1 Peter 5:8-9

“Whatever __________ does, may he/she work at it with all his/her heart, as working for You, not for people.” – Colossians 3:23

Lord, please help us to never cease praying for our loved ones and to give thanks for Your sovereignty, for this is Your Will in Christ Jesus, Amen.