Perseverance: The capacity to bear up under difficult—unpleasant, pain, stressful—circumstances in a Christ-like manner.

Quotes:
"It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer." (Albert Einstein)
Edison failed 10, 000 times before he made the electric light.
"Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail." (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Prayers:

“Father, teach ________________ perseverance in all he/she does; and especially to run with perseverance the race marked out for him/her.” Hebrews 12:1 …let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
“Dear God, may Your Holy Spirit encourage __________ to begin building a lifestyle of patient endurance. Instill in __________a willingness to obey Your commandments and always be faithful to Jesus Christ. Deepen his/her trust in You as God and Savior.”

“Father, I pray that you gently build endurance into _________’s life. Give _________ a heart that helps him/her to keep on pressing on in all that he/she does." Galatians 6:9 And let us not get tired of doing what is right, for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t get discouraged and give up.

“Lord, give _________the endurance to stand against every temptation. Deliver _________ from ever giving up on looking to You for strength, wisdom, and encouragement.” James 1:12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in Him and defiled the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.” Daniel 3:28
“Lord, I pray that _________ will develop a heart of perseverance like that of these young men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Give _________ the strength he/she needs to be able to stand firm when facing adversity and say, ‘I serve God, and He is able to save me from any situation. But even if He doesn’t, I will not disobey Him. I will do what I know is right in His sight.’”

Prayers for the heart

There are many times as a parent/grandparent when far greater results come from quiet communion and prayer with our God than from all the talking and rhetoric available to us.

Since the heart is the center for decisions, obedience, devotion, and intentionality, it represents the total human person. Within the heart, human beings meet God’s Word. (Harper's Bible Dictionary)

This week focus on the "heart" of the child. With so many pulls for their hearts, we need to be constant in praying that their hearts be undivided toward God.

Prayers:

Father, I pray that ______________ will love You with all her/his heart, soul, and with all her/his mind.
Matthew 22:37 Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law? And He said to him, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ This is the great and foremost commandment.

I pray that _____________ will have a loyal (undivided) heart toward You.
1 Chron. 29:9 Then the people rejoiced, for they had offered willingly, because with a loyal heart they had offered willingly to the LORD. 1 Chron. 29:19 And give my son Solomon a loyal heart to keep Your commandments and Your testimonies and Your statutes.

I pray that _____________ will have no other gods before, You, O God. I pray that __________ will have no other gods on the throne of his/her heart.
Exodus 20:3 You shall have no other gods before Me.

I pray that You will give ____________ one heart and one way, that he/she may fear You forever, for the good of them and their children after them.
Jeremiah 32:39 I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them.

I pray that ____________ will fear the LORD and serve You faithfully with all her/his heart and consider what great things You have done for her/his.
1 Samuel 12:24 But be sure to fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things He has done for you.

I pray that You would created in ____________ a pure heart.
Psalm 51:10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

This week focus on the value of "a Good Attitude" in your child/grandchild.

Definition of Attitude: a complex mental state involving beliefs and feelings and values and dispositions to act in certain ways.

A few quotes from Charles Swindoll:
• We have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.
• Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill.
• Attitude keeps me going or cripples my progress. It alone fuels my fire or assaults my hope. When my attitudes are right, there is no barrier too high, no valley too deep, no dream too extreme, no challenge too great for me.”

(You can put your child's or grandchild's name in blank and make it personal.)

Father, I pray that ___________ will have an "attitude of gratitude".

I pray that ___________ will learn to give thanks in all things (1 Thessalonians 5:18 ...in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.)

May ______________ learn to do all things without grumbling and complaining (Philippians 2:14....Do all things without grumbling or disputing.)

I pray that ______________ will think on (learn to keep his/her mind dwelling on) whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good report, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things (Philippians 4:8).

May _____________ learn to bring every thought and make it obey Christ (2 Corinthians 10:4.....bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ).

(Reminder.....Philippians 4:9 The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things. As parents/grandparents, we need to teach and train through our own words and attitudes.)

Suggested exercise with children/grandchildren this week:
1) Ask your child every night this week to name at least 3 things for which they are grateful.
2) Participate with them by creating an "attitude" book by making it very special by decorating with arts and crafts. Draw or cut out pictures which illustrate those things.
3) Tell them that you will reward them with (you name it....possibly $ for each day that he/she doesn't grumble or complain). For the older ones, the art project probably won't work, but ask the Lord to give you creativity in how to apply to these truths.
_________________________________

As I see people each week in counseling, attitude is a common thread with people who are struggling. Many times they don't understand that they get to choose their attitudes about people, places, and situations. I pray that our children/grandchildren will learn to have the attitude of Christ in all things whether it's with their teachers, school, homework, friends, classes, ballgames, brothers, sisters, etc. Their attitudes come from their thoughts, "Just what am I thinking about this?" When they make the statement, "I don't like....." most often it's coming from wrong or negative thinking. We can help them change his/her thoughts and think God's thoughts. For instance, change thoughts from "I have to do this" to "I get to do this". Do your children hear you say, "I have to cook dinner", or "I get to cook dinner"?

Generosity – giving your attention, time, abilities, money, and compassion freely to others

Rick Warren (author of Purpose Driven Life)…. From my own personal experience, I have grown more in my faith, I have grown closer to Jesus Christ, and my heart has been change more by learning to give by faith than any other discipline in my life.

This week focus on the character quality of generosity keeping in mind that giving is not just about monetary but others things such as time, abilities, and compassion. Make the prayer personal by putting your child's/grandchild's name in the blank.

Father, I pray that ________ will understand that a greater blessing comes when he/she gives rather than when he/she receives. Acts 20:35 It is more blessed to give than to receive.
I pray that _________ will choose to give to others and have a happy heart as he/she gives. 11 Corinthians 9:7 Every man according as he purposed in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loves a cheerful giver.
I pray that _________ will understand that sharing with others is God’s will for his/her life. Eph. 4:28 He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need.
Father, would You give ________ a gracious and giving heart toward the poor and those in need. Proverbs 19:17 One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the Lord and He will repay him for his good deed.
Give ________a generous and willing heart to share and know that he/she is laying up treasures in heaven. 1 Timothy 6:18 Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come.
I pray that _______will understand that when he/she gives food, water, clothing, time, and compassion to others, that he/she has done this for Jesus. Matt. 25:34-40 Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? ‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’
I pray that when ________ shares with others, that he/she will know that this is pleasing God. Hebrews 13:16 and do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
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Practical examples of learning to give:

A father recently implemented a system in their home where the children are given envelopes to help them to learn to give and manage money. When they receive money, they are to put the 1st 10% in the envelope for giving, the 2nd 10% for saving, and the rest for spending. Great idea!

Katie came to me after the Easter hunt on Saturday and pointing to her basket said, Grandie, look, I have too many eggs. I need to give some to the younger kids. She found Trace whose basket was not full and hid her eggs for him to find. I thank God for her generous heart and communicated that to her.

Years ago, a financial advisor asked Rick & me, Why do you want to make more money? Rick responded with a question, Why do you want to make more money? Without hesitancy, he answered, “In order to give more.”

Praying God's Word

You would probably agree with me that there is a war going on for our children and grandchildren today. I believe that one way that we're going to win this battle for the hearts of our children is through prayer. But, I don't always know how to pray. For instance, when a grandson is going up to bat during a baseball game, how do I pray? Lord, please let him get a base hit? This is where I have struggled for years. I desire for my children and grandchildren to be successful, to make good grades, and to excel in whatever they're doing. But much anxiety and confusion can come in my prayers if I'm not focused on God's heart and His will for my loved ones.

This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him. 1 John 5:14-15

How can I pray with confidence knowing that the prayer is God's will and that He will answer? There are so many situations in which we don't know how to pray, but there are countless prayers that are found in God's Word and definitely His will for our children and grandchildren.

As the child gets up to bat, what if the prayer communicated God's Word, Lord, I pray that ___________ would remember that he can do all things through Christ who gives strength. Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. Does that mean that he'll hit a home run? Win the game? Maybe, or maybe not, but the emphasis is on godly character...that the child might grow in confidence and dependence on the Lord (not confidence in self) and grow in God's strength (not strength in self).

This is what this blog is about. I will send out a prayer guide each week encouraging us to pray God's Word with confidence knowing that God will answer our prayers. Let's fight for our children and grandchildren through prayer. The first blog will focus on child's attitude and how to pray God's Word.