Not A Daughter In The Bunch

I've got five sons. God knows I would have spoiled a daughter by giving her anything she ever wanted. Over the years, I've felt the burden to pray consistently for these young fellas, having been a boy myself and understanding the male world the way I do.

Many years ago I started using Philippians 1:9-11 as the basis for my regular prayer concerning them:

"And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God."

I want my boys to be useful, fruitful and faithful.

I can't protect them from everything this world fires at them, and I sure won't raise them perfectly, although I'm trying my best in spite of my own weaknesses. But what I can do is pray. I know I had a praying parent . . . and I know how valuable that is.

Praying for my guys encourages me when I think about all the, well....sinful crap....that they're going to face and the older ones are already facing. It encourages me because I know that God has been faithful to me, and I know that He'll be faithful to them. I know that although my fail list is long, that God has been faithful to discipline and even cause my life to bear some fruit (however meager), and I know He'll do the same for them. I feel secure knowing that the Lord will deal with them as He has done with me.

So, I pray.