Oct. 11 of 31 Days

Incidentally, today is 10-11-12. I know that's all over Facebook, but some things still manage to slip by. In case you were interested. :)

Today, I'm posting some prayers. If you read a previous post, you read my struggles with my stepdaughter. (Or some of them.) My heart wants to pray for her when I'm frustrated or discouraged, but most of the time what would probably come out is "pleeeeeease don't let her come back here . . ." and I don't think that's  what God would have me pray. (Crazy real.)

But I struggle with what to pray. I want her to be closer to Jesus. I want her to remember the truth she knows. I want her to stay away from bad influences.

Oh, lookie there, that could be my prayer.

But when I'm frustrated, I can't usually think of such clear words.

My Bible is Stormie Omartian's The Power of a Praying Woman Bible. (Or you can find it here. I'd rather tag CBD for it, but they don't seem to have an English version. Odd . . .) I think I always knew they were there, but until recently I didn't pay attention to the ready-made prayers she has in the front, prayers for stuff about us, our hubbies, our kids, our friends, etc. Suddenly I thought, hey, I bet she has something I could pray. I want to quote for you the ones that I wrote down to use for my stepdaughter.

Note: I realized as I was copying these down -- and fyi, if you write it right, they each fit on one post-it, for easy accessibility -- that I most certainly should be praying each of these for my other kids, too. In most places, she already has "him/her" written in. But of course make sure you insert your own child's gender, and I've taken the liberty of highlighting where you could say their name.

These prayers should be as personal as we can make them.

-------------------------------------------------------

Eternal Future
Lord, may my child call You his/her Savior, be filled with Your Holy Spirit, acknowledge You in every area of his/her life, and choose always to follow You and Your ways. Help him/her to walk closely with You today.

Faith
Lord, I pray that You would take the faith You have planted in my child and multiply it. May the truth of Your Word be firmly established in his/her heart so that faith will grow daily and guide his/her life and decisions. Help him/her to trust You at all times.

Sense of Love and Acceptance
Lord, I pray that my child will feel loved and accepted. Penetrate his/her heart with Your love and help him/her to fully understand how far-reaching and complete it is. Help me to model Your love and acceptance to my child today.

Obedience to the Truth
Lord, I pray that You will fill my child with Your Spirit of truth  Give him/her a heart that loves truth and follows after it. I pray that he/she will not be blinded or deceived but will always be able to clearly understand Your truth.

Protection
Lord, I lift my child up to You and ask that You would put a hedge of protection around him/her. Protect his/her spirit, body, mind, and emotions from any kind of evil or harm.

Purity and Holiness
Lord, I pray that my child will run from evil, from impurity, and from unholy thoughts, words, and deeds. Help him/her to be drawn toward whatever is pure and holy and choose to be a part of only those things that are pleasing to You.

-------------------------------------------------------

Please remember, if you mean these prayers, every word, it doesn't matter who wrote them. If they come from your heart, they're as much your prayer as anyone's.

I hope they help you.