One of the most vital issues for those of us who are parents is, Have we accepted the commitment to pray for our children? And next in line for me is, How can I do it systematically and joyously, with fresh inspiration?
Undergirding the commitment to prayer is a clear understanding of why we pray for the children. Perhaps the answers to this question seem obvious, but, in my early days as a parent, the obvious answers didn't inspire me, and too often they induced a sense of urgency about my child. If I prayed because he might get sick, I found myself with a greater fear of sickness. If I prayed because the world is wicked and full of temptations, I found I had a shrinking view of his purpose in life and of his basic freedom to bless the world. If I prayed for him to become a good Christian Scientist, our time for sharing inspiration seemed artificial and forced.
During these first nine years of parenting, the most joy-inspiring motive in praying for the children has been to make it part of my worship of God. It has to do with the nature of man— the true nature of what we and the children are, namely the manifestation, the showing forth, of God.
