Praying God's Word

A childhood friend of mine decided to start this year praying scripture over her family. It's something that I have always meant to do, but the task seemed overwhelming! So when this friend invited others to join her and chose a topic and verse for each week-I decided to join in! I write each verse on a notecard and hang it in the house where I will see it and be reminded to pray. Here's what the month of January looked like.

WEEK ONE - OUR FAMILY'S PLANS Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails. -Proverbs 19:21
This is a verse seems especially applicable to our lives. After 6 big moves in 8 years of marriage I've learned that my plans don't always come to fruition. But praying this verse over our family helped reinforce that it's GOD'S plans that prevail, not my plans, not Keri's plans. I can have confidence that even when my plans seem better, God has the perfect plan for our family.


WEEK TWO - TO BE FULL OF JOY Be joyful always. -1 Thessalonians 5:16 God is my joy and my delight. -Psalm 43:4
The "assigned" topic was to pray for your children to be happy. But I changed the verses and decided to pray for them to have joy-even in the midst of unhappy circumstances. This has been something that I have prayed for myself for many years-that I would find joy in God no matter what the situation. As my Dad always says, he doesn't pray for our lives to be easy, but prays that we would look to God in good and bad times. So that's what I spent the week praying over Addie, Doak, and Brock.


WEEK THREE- MY HUSBAND'S JOB Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us; And confirm for us the work of our hands; Yes, confirm the work of our hands. -Psalm 90:17
This was another area of our life that has been prayed over many, many times! My prayers this week centered around Keri's influence as a coach and teacher. I prayed that he would be successful (in God's eyes) at his work and that God would confirm to Keri that he is exactly where God wants him.

WEEK FOUR- ME AS A WIFE And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. -Hebrews 10:24
It's better to live alone in the corner of an attic than with a quarrelsome wife in a lovely home. -Proverbs 21:9
This week I prayed A LOT! I know I can improve in this area of my life and I earnestly asked God to change me and make me a better wife. The thought of Keri living alone in the attic made me laugh, but I know there are some times when he probably would have been more comfortable there than with a nagging wife. This week I tried my best to keep my mouth closed in the name of peace, instead of stirring up trouble. I also asked God to show me how I can speak to Keri and what I can do for Keri that would help him be able to go and show others love and do good works for God. This week opened my eyes. And let's just say that these two verses are posted in a prominent place in the house (by the kitchen sink) so I am reminded often to pray these scriptures for our family.

week five-didn't get to it. Usually this would have really bothered me and I honestly would have stopped altogether. But I gave myself grace and picked up and moved on to the next week!


WEEKS SIX and SEVEN- MY CHILDREN . . . TO KNOW CHRIST I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. 3 John 1:4
This is a verse that I have prayed over my kids for some time now. And having it written out and up in the house again was a great reminder to pray for the salvation of my children. Addie especially is at a place where she is so curious and open to the gospel. She asks many questions about faith and Bible stories and actively listens to our responses. There are so many opportunities in the day to talk about faith and I'm praying this scripture over our family and asking God to remind me to take the time to answer each question, to read the Bible with our kids, and to pray over them daily.