On prayer & the Perfect Parent who prays for us

Another night with the usual routine— A few books while we rock, the usual songs sung together before tucking the toddler in bed.

We always pray with our big boys before bed, and at some point I started the rhythm with our little one as well.

Simple, short— I pray for a good night’s rest and choose one simple thing to pray over him for that night.

A heart of wisdom.
A love for God’s Word.
A spirit of humility.
A joy-bringer.
A man of courage.

Simple, small things to pray over my little boy’s future.

It has become such a special moment to me. To think on what he will one day become and to pray that God leads him then, when my ability to protect and guide begins to fade.

And then just last Sunday I hear my own dad from the pulpit sharing about how our very own Heavenly Father prays for us.

I think about those moments before bedtime with my toddler.

I think of the love that swells in my heart, the gentle hand I lay on his back. I think of the immense yearning I have to see my requests one day realized.

I think of the hope that I hold for this little boy’s future.

And I wonder right then in my seat if that’s just how our Heavenly Father intercedes for us?

I ask myself the question — what perhaps, is He praying over me right this moment? On what is He interceding?

What matter of my life does He see a need for grace and strength in? What strongholds does He yearn to see me free of?

As parents, we often feel deeper yearnings while our children seem oblivious to the dangers they dance with or the peril that could befall them. There is an urgency and a passion that our years of experience perhaps have given us.

Does He feel that for me?

I know the answer is Yes.

Because I know that just like a distracted child, I don’t give near enough thought to the battles I’m in and the desperate need that I have for more of Him.

I am often oblivious, I am often lured away by other desires. Yet, I have a Heavenly Father whose heart is often broken and pleading for my rescue and sanctification.

Oh, what a joy it is to be His child.

And here I wonder, how different would my life look, if I gave more thought to this praying, Heavenly Father of mine?

If I wondered often at what He might be longing to see in my life?

What if my greatest yearning was to walk with Him and simply to please Him?