Pray for AmericaSample

Pray for Our Children and Our Families

Preparing for a family road trip is important. Having a safe, enjoyable journey with the family hinges on many things. One of the most essential prerequisites is having clearly defined, obeyed signs and markers. If lanes, traffic lights, exit signs, street names, and everything else were absent, ambiguous, or even ignored, driving would be stressful at best or incredibly dangerous.

Unfortunately, so many pathways children travel in America today are like that. We've always had signs advertising off-ramps to seductive-yet-destructive attractions. Yet today, it's not just off-ramps that can lead young ones astray. Many main roads are now simply off. Signs that say "One Way" have been taken off. Streetlights are off-center, so travelers are unsure who has the right of way. It's incredibly easy to go off-course. More than ever, it's essential to "Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it (Proverbs 22:6)."

That's a hope-giving, life-giving verse. Yet there are also other factors today that can encourage our hearts. We are not told to put our hope and faith in culture, and for good reason. Still, there are signs in some places that segments of culture are shifting. Many people—and not just Christians—are becoming dissatisfied with how lines have been blurred and how once-objectionable practices must now not only be tolerated but passionately supported. Growing numbers of people from all walks of life are especially questioning and even resisting how much children have been targeted.

Today, pray for these younger generations to be strong, wise, loving champions of the Gospel. Bless them with discerning and compassionate hearts. And also pray for parents, grandparents, other family members, daycare workers, Sunday school teachers, youth leaders, educators, and counselors to travel the straight and narrow road themselves so they can show the children in their lives the way. After all, that's what makes any road trip a memorable and enjoyable one: not that experiences were had, but the experiences that were shared.