It Took Me 5 Years . . .
Since this weekend is Father's Day, I have an idea for dads (or parents) that I can finally share publicly. It is a special gift that GOD inspired me to give to my sons when they turned 18. It came from an author - Len Sweet. When his children were born, Dr. Sweet purchased a Bible for each child. During their growing up years, he would pray specific verses for them and over time, he would have a Bible full of prayers.
So when each of my sons turned 13, I found a small Bible for them and started praying at least 2 verses each week for them. I would underline the verse and then record the date of the prayer in the margin. That does not sound like much, but when you add up five years of two weekly prayers, that is over 500 recorded prayers divinely inspired & certain to be answered by GOD. And since my sons are 4 years apart, I had a year where I was praying for both of them twice a week. It took some discipline to do that and quite honestly, I did not always pray for each of them twice a week. But on other weeks, I prayed for them more than that.
When each of them turned 18 or graduated from high school, I presented them with a small Bible full of underlined prayers for them. And I told my sons that I had gone before them in prayer believing that GOD had a special purpose for their lives. They had no idea that I was doing this. Only my wife knew. And that is why I am sharing this idea publicly now.
Also, I felt like the teenage years were important times for me to pray for them with so many temptations facing them as well as the sheer craziness of being a teenager. And I believe that those prayers will live on for the rest of their lives until GOD answers them. It took me 5 years, but I believe the investment will pay huge dividends in the future.
You may be thinking that your child is an adult now & it is just too late. But it is not. What an awesome gift to give your adult son or daughter - 5 years of prayers from God's Word. Or 10 years. Or 20 years. Or perhaps a gift for your grandchildren?
I hope this idea will spur all of us on to do more for our children in the way of their spiritual development. If you like, share your ideas in the comments section of the blog. How are you blessing your children? Happy Father's Day!