By: Steve Wilmot
Edgerton, Ohio
More than anything, I want my children and grandchildren to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and to follow him faithfully their whole life long.
With so many other things fighting for their attention and loyalty, it’s not easy for them to stay on track with Jesus. The enticement of substitute gods lurks everywhere.
Our children and grandchildren need all the help they can get to avoid this trap. That’s where we grandparents can play a huge role by taking seriously the call to pray for them.
The older I get, the more consistently I pray for my adult children and grandchildren. Age brings a perspective that only comes with age and experience.
When our life shrinks to a handful of years, we realize most of the things we gave the lion’s share of our time and attention to weren’t all that important.
Our priorities change. So too the things we used to think matter most. Time shows us that relationships with family and friends matter. The legacy we’ll leave behind matters. God and eternity matter.
But try to tell that to your kids or grandkids. They’ll embrace your perspective just as fast as you did when you were their age. They’ll smile inwardly and think to themselves, “Gramps, you old fogey, things are different today than when you were growing up. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
So, what do we do when they reject our point of view? When they give no thought to their spiritual health and sustaining a serious relationship with Jesus. When you see them about to make the same mistakes you made and suffer the same consequences.
What do you do when they won’t listen to you? You could nag them until they adopt your viewpoint. Good luck with that.
You could beat yourself up that you didn’t tell them these things when they were younger. You could give in to failure and do your best to survive the rest of your life with a heavy heart as they go down the wrong road.
OR, you could pray for them … daily. God “directs their hearts wherever he pleases” (Proverbs 21:1). Since they won’t listen to us anymore, it’s the only thing we can do. But here’s the irony: It’s also the best thing you can do for them.
That’s the option I picked a decade or so ago. Here are a couple of lessons God taught me that I believe you’ll find helpful too.
One: Don’t stop praying, especially when you don’t see anything happening. It’s easy to let unanswered prayer discourage you, weaken your faith, steal your hope and tempt you to abandon prayer. Don’t take the bait.
There are always times when you can’t see or don’t feel like God is doing anything to change your children’s and grandchildren’s hearts. But he is.
When you wonder if God is doing anything, grasp this promise with both hands. “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6). What God started in your children and grandchildren, he will finish. You have his word on it.
Two: Don’t tell God how to accomplish what you pray he’ll do for your kids and grandkids. In Mark 7:32, you can read about some people who brought a man who was deaf and could hardly talk to Jesus.
They desperately wanted him to heal the man so he could live a normal life. Mark writes, “they begged him to place his hands on the man.”
“Hey, Jesus, let us tell you how to heal him: put your hands on him.” As if they knew better than Jesus how to heal the man. Like we do when we tell God how to get our kids to pursue a growing relationship with God. To set their eyes and hearts on eternity.
A guy named Jeff suggests a better way to pray. He and his close friends pray this for each other: “Whatever is best for my friend, do that. Amen.”
That’s a great prayer. After all, doesn’t God know what our children and grandchildren need better than we do? And doesn’t he know better than us the best way and the best time to make his next move?
Grampa, Grandma, will you step up to the plate beginning today to pray daily for your children and grandchildren? Their future — here and through eternity — and their spiritual health may very well depend on your prayers for them.
———————–
Steve Wilmot is a former Edgerton, Ohio area pastor who now seeks “to still bear fruit in old age” through writing. He is the author of seven books designed to assist believers to make steady progress on their spiritual journey.