Praying Over Your Children and StepchildrenSample

Knowing God

Social media has given us access to public figures on a scale never seen before. How did actors, musicians, influencers, and the next-door neighbor spend their weekend? Just look online. We can fall into the trap of believing that we know them. But we don’t. We merely know about them. Unfortunately, our children and bonus children are growing up within this framework in which it is easy to mistake knowledge with relationship.

Our role as parents and stepparents is to teach and model for our children what it means to know God, not just know about Him. Deuteronomy 6:5-7 tells us how to do that. We integrate Him into our daily lives, as we walk, talk, eat, sleep, and play. This means knowing God ourselves, and we know Him as we abide in Him (John 15:1-11). As our relationship with Him deepens, we live it out in front of our children and bonus children. And, as they become parents, they pass on their faith to the next generation, creating a Christ-loving legacy that lasts far beyond our days on earth. That is the greatest, most important gift we could ever give them.

Prayer

Lord, thank You for wanting me to know You intimately. You don’t want me to accumulate knowledge—you want me to experience eternal and abundant life with You. You want my children and bonus children to enjoy a relationship with You as well, so I pray that I would be a good teacher and doer of the Word. Allow me to draw close to You and be filled by You so that it spills over into the hearts and minds of my children. Give them a hunger to know You and to follow You. Amen.