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For Your Christmas Wish List

Nov 17

3 min read

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Below are two resources that model how to infuse scripture into our prayers. I would highly recommend both.


A prayer life should not be separated from time spent in the Word of God. It is a corollary to it. To this end, the Pour Out Your Heart Prayer Journal is intentionally “Word-drenched.”

Praying that is not scripture infused can get sentimental, focused on only temporal issues and self-serving. There are many examples of prayer in the Bible and a long Christian tradition of praying scripture that can strengthen our hope and deepen our faith. Praying scripture teaches us what to pray for. 


"Without immersion in God’s words, our prayers may not be merely limited and shallow but also untethered from reality. We may be responding not to the real God but to what we wish God and life to be like. Indeed, if left to themselves our hearts will tend to create a God who doesn’t exist. . .  Without prayer that answers the God of the Bible, we will only be talking to ourselves.


“We would never produce the full range of biblical prayer if we were initiating prayer according to our own inner needs and psychology. It can only be produced if we are responding in prayer according to who God is as revealed in the Scripture”    (https://www.desiringgod.org/.../start-the-day-happy-in-god)


Kathleen Nielson has put together a four volume series of prayers for children in different age groups. Each volume has 31 scripture passages with an accompanying prayer. The prayers are beautiful. Poetic. Expressive. They are tied to the scripture and give words to a mom’s heart-desire for her kids. 



I have personally used the one entitled, Prayers for Adult Children. I recently picked it off my bookshelf and am beginning again to pray through it. All the kids will be here, Lord enabling, for Christmas. I will be finishing praying for them by the time they arrive. I am looking forward to this quiet way of preparing my heart for Christmas. 


The second resource is worth buying just for the introduction. Here is how Nancy Guthrie begins her book, One Year Praying Through the Bible for Your Kids


“Parenting brings incredible, indescribable joys. But because our children matter so much to us, parenting can also bring incredible challenges and even devastating heartbreak. For such an important task, we need to have our thoughts and attitudes and our dreams and desires shaped by Scripture. So I’ve written this devotional as a way to allow God to speak into this all- important task on a daily basis.”


Each day gives suggested Bible readings, quotes a few verses from those readings and ends with a prayer that encourages us to focus on big picture truths about God and His gracious work. A mom could read these for herself, praying the given prayers for her children. Or, they could be read as a family and prayed together. Either way, after a year (or more if you take you a little while longer) you will have not only prayed through the scripture for your kids, you will have learned a lot about praying scripture. 



Have you made your Christmas Wish List yet? May I suggest, at least one of these two books would be a great addition. Or a great gift for a mom with kids of any age. 


https://www.wtsbooks.com/products/prayers-of-a-parent-set-4-volumes?srsltid=AfmBOoov05a8nIw-MBYpn4p7BNyIiIFAzSJmc74f4CKk4-KE3mMZsqRr


https://www.nancyguthrie.com/1-yr-praying-through-the-bible-kids



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