Parenting Children - September 29, 2012

Day 46 - Praying for our children

• never too soon to start (see the account of John the Baptist in the womb in Luke 1:44, The Bible)
• never too late to start (see the Parable of the Lost Son in Luke 15: 11-24, The Bible)
• turn fears and longings into prayers
• when to pray:

o with them before they go to sleep
o teaching them to pray (thank you, sorry, please)
o on our own
o with others
o in traffic jams or when cleaning up or ironing
• when prompted (often at moments of potential danger or temptation for our child)
• everyday

what to pray for:
• friendships
• schools
• their health
• their safety
• their marriage partner (most children will marry one day and their marriage partner may well already be alive somewhere)
• their response to God's love
• their characters - use the fruit of the Spirit as a list to pray through: love. joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (see Galatians 5: 22-23, The Bible)
• pray with them, particularly at bedtime
• pray for yourselves as parents

Question:
Take some time to pray for your child(ren), and plan to make it a regular routine.

From Series: Parenting Children Ages 0-10 | More Messages from Parenting Children | Download Audio

From Series: "Parenting Children Ages 0-10"

Study Guide

More Messages Associated With "Family"...

Powered by Series Engine


Teenagers needs the confidence that comes from knowing they are loved.  Their behaviour often acts like a gauge showing how full of love their internal “emotional tank” is.  Today, we introduce the concept of the five love languages as a way of expressing love to our teenagers in order for them to feel loved.

  • Our teenagers’ greatest need is to feel loved and accepted during this enormous transition in their lives a time of:
    • self- discovery
    • pushing for independence
    • much self-questioning
    • peer pressure
    • they can experience a lot of self-doubt and feel awkward and unlovable
    • confidence rests on:
      • security (knowing they are loved)
      • self-worth (knowing they are of value)
      • significance (knowing there is a purpose to their lives)
      • seek to keep their emotional tank” full of LOVE:
        • their behavior acts like the gauge to show how full of love they feel
        • knowing that they are loved and accepted enables them in the long-term:
          • to resist peer pressure when they need to
          • to make good choices
          • to build close relationships

Discovering how our teenagers feel loved

  • discover the primary way each teenager feels loved, whether it’s through:
    • time
    • words
    • touch
    • presents
    • actions
    • (see Gary Chapman, The Five Love Languages of Teenagers)
    • importance of a particular love language may have changed as a child has grown older

Question: Which of the five way of expressing love was most important for you during your upbringing?