A Life of Faith: A Parents Prayer GuideSample

“I can do it all myself” --every toddler ever.

Our natural bent as human beings is to do it all ourselves; it’s not just toddlers! I struggle with letting go of control and allowing people to help me. I finish chores myself because it is faster than teaching my kids to help me. When I face a challenge, I just try harder and harder. Admittedly, I often wish God would follow my plans for my life. I like to do it all by myself. Can you relate?

But in this passage of Matthew, Jesus is not surviving Satan’s temptation in the desert by doing it all himself. He fights this battle with scripture! As believers, we are called to humble ourselves before the Lord and do the same.

Reading the Bible and memorizing scripture matters because it is one way we can fight the battles in our own lives—both big and small. Scripture can help our kids (and us!) feel confident in our God-given identity, face a life crisis, and everything in between. Knowing God’s word also develops our faith and brings us closer to God. Every bit of scripture is alive and active (Hebrews 4:12), God-breathed, and teaches us to live righteously (2 Timothy 3:16).

The more we know God’s word and keep it in our hearts, the more we understand God’s heart and his ways, aligning our wills to his. The word of God protects us from the desire to do it all by ourselves and replaces that desire with the desire to let God direct our paths. God loves us too much to leave us to our own devices. He reveals truth to us through his word so that the desires of our hearts become more like his!

So this week, let’s pray that our kids will know the word of God and lean on it to guide them in every area of their lives.

Prayer

Father God, I pray that ____________ grows to learn your word, love your word, and see it as holy and infallible. May they love the Bible and read it daily with the goal of knowing your heart more and more. May they rely on your word to direct their paths. Remind them to hide your word in their hearts so they can use it to fight any battle they face—now and in the future. Amen.