She Is Yours: A Parent & Daughter DevotionalSample

SHE IS YOURS

For You

There is a word that I think of when I read the story of Hannah in the first two chapters of the book of 1 Samuel. It’s a word that I hope describes me: Trust.

Hannah was a woman who trusted the Lord. When she was barren and unable to conceive a baby, she trusted the Lord and asked Him to give her a child. Hannah described her conversations with the Lord by saying, “I was pouring out my soul to the Lord” (verse 15). Hannah was desperate, and she knew only the Lord could provide. She even made a bargain with the Lord. She told him that if He gave her a baby, she would dedicate him back to the Lord to serve Him as a priest.

God eventually answered her prayer and gave her a son—Samuel. Imagine how difficult it was for Hannah to fulfill her promise and give Samuel back to the Lord a few years later!

As a dad of four precious girls, I often struggle with trusting God, but I could take a few cues from Hannah. She lived in a creative tension that we as parents need to learn to live in. She knew what it was to receive and give back—at the same time. She knew she wasn’t given a son for her own benefit only, but for the benefit of God’s plan and His people.

Samuel would go on to play a big part in the history of the people of God, serving as a prophet and priest. I’m sure his mother had nervous moments as she entrusted him to God’s care, but it was through her trust and obedience that God would use Samuel for great things.

May you and I be parents who understand how to live in the tension of receiving and giving back, and may our daughters serve the Lord in ways we could never imagine outside of a big faith that trusts God with their futures.

Here is a prayer of dedication to help you do that very thing:

Dear God,

I release my daughter into Your care.

I surrender my desire to control her. I surrender my desire to manipulate her future. I surrender my tendency to overprotect, shelter, and suffocate her. I surrender my desire to be her best friend, first. I surrender my own dreams for her. I surrender my need to be her source.

She is Yours.

I’m totally open to You, dependent on You, and desperate for You to be in control as I let go. I’m relying on the fact that You are God and that You have created my daughter for Your purpose and for this time.

I pray that You will draw her to Yourself. I pray that she will delight in You. I pray that You will be patient with her. I pray that You will provide for her. I pray that You will bless her. I pray that You will use her to be a blessing to others. I pray that You will mature her. And ultimately, I pray that she will show Jesus in her very being.

I trust in Your sovereignty. I wait in expectation for Your providence.

Lord, she is Yours, and I trust You with her.

Amen.

For Her

Dear God,

Thank You for creating me. I am grateful for the people in my life who love me and want to take care of me.

But I mostly thank You for loving me and taking care of me! I know I am Your chosen, protected, beloved, and seen daughter.

I give You complete control over my life.

I give up my desire to have things my way. Help me not to control everything myself, but to trust You.

I am Yours.

I depend on You, and I need You.

Teach me how to follow You.

Show me Your plans.

Fill my heart with Your love and help me to show that love to everyone around me.

Give me confidence to walk boldly in who You have created me to be.

I am Yours.

I pray that You will keep me safe, keep me close, and lead me.

Protect my eyes, my ears, and my heart.

Bless me so that I can bless others.

Give me the patience I need as You grow me up in Your kingdom. May my life be a light to my friends and my family, and may I shine brightly to the world around me.

Bring others to You through me.

I am excited for my future and live in expectation of Your goodness!

I am Yours, and I trust You forever.

Conversation Starter

What is something you’ve been given but you know you need to give away?

Inspired by She Is Yours authored by Wynter and Jonathan Pitts