"Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it."--Proverbs 22:6(NIV)
We live in an age in which technology is the heartbeat of our world. Television, computers, tablets, smart-phones, etc. give us access to everything that the world has to offer in an instant. We can go to school on-line, shop on-line, pay bills on-line, learn how to play an instrument or speak a foreign language with the click of a button.
Our children have this same instant access; and as parents, guardians, grandparents, teachers, caregivers we must be keenly aware of the things our children have access to. There are websites and on-line videos that house illicit content that our children are acting out. There are prime time TV shows with questionable content that our children are viewing. There are songs with lyrics that carry undertones of rage, depression, and promiscuity that are children are singing. The powers of darkness are seeking to train our children in a way, albeit popular, but not profitable for them. The word of God teaches us that there is a way that seems right or acceptable, but the end leads to death (Proverbs 16:25). Perhaps not physical death--but the death of innocence, dreams, ambitions--youth.
God commands that we train or teach our children "up"--note their talents, dreams, gifts, abilities and nurture them. Teach them the truths of God's word, so at the appropriate they can be launched into their God-ordained destiny (Psalm 127). If we follow God's instruction, we are assured that our children will not veer from what they have been trained up in, because what they have been trained up in has become a part of who they are.
Prayer
Father, I thank you for the children that you have placed in my life. I thank you that they are gifts from you and that you have a purpose, plan, and assignment for them. I pray for wisdom and grace to train them up and to start them on the path that you have ordained for their lives. I pray for knowledge, discernment, and understanding. Give me spiritual eyes to see the schemes and tricks of the enemy to ensnare my children. I pray that you would open the doors of communication between me and my children that I would be able to discern any inroads of the enemy. Reveal any secrets that my children may be hiding. Reveal any darkness that my children have been exposed to.
Thank you for equipping me to be a teacher, coach, confidant, and cheerleader for my children. In Jesus' name, Amen.
We live in an age in which technology is the heartbeat of our world. Television, computers, tablets, smart-phones, etc. give us access to everything that the world has to offer in an instant. We can go to school on-line, shop on-line, pay bills on-line, learn how to play an instrument or speak a foreign language with the click of a button.
Our children have this same instant access; and as parents, guardians, grandparents, teachers, caregivers we must be keenly aware of the things our children have access to. There are websites and on-line videos that house illicit content that our children are acting out. There are prime time TV shows with questionable content that our children are viewing. There are songs with lyrics that carry undertones of rage, depression, and promiscuity that are children are singing. The powers of darkness are seeking to train our children in a way, albeit popular, but not profitable for them. The word of God teaches us that there is a way that seems right or acceptable, but the end leads to death (Proverbs 16:25). Perhaps not physical death--but the death of innocence, dreams, ambitions--youth.
God commands that we train or teach our children "up"--note their talents, dreams, gifts, abilities and nurture them. Teach them the truths of God's word, so at the appropriate they can be launched into their God-ordained destiny (Psalm 127). If we follow God's instruction, we are assured that our children will not veer from what they have been trained up in, because what they have been trained up in has become a part of who they are.
Prayer
Father, I thank you for the children that you have placed in my life. I thank you that they are gifts from you and that you have a purpose, plan, and assignment for them. I pray for wisdom and grace to train them up and to start them on the path that you have ordained for their lives. I pray for knowledge, discernment, and understanding. Give me spiritual eyes to see the schemes and tricks of the enemy to ensnare my children. I pray that you would open the doors of communication between me and my children that I would be able to discern any inroads of the enemy. Reveal any secrets that my children may be hiding. Reveal any darkness that my children have been exposed to.
Thank you for equipping me to be a teacher, coach, confidant, and cheerleader for my children. In Jesus' name, Amen.
