Tag Archive for A Father’s Prayer

Parenting

2018-05-27 Devotional with Hymn No comments

Without God’s help, the demands of parenting could overwhelm us. At times being a parent requires more wisdom and patience than we have to give. But remember:

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness. (2 Peter 1:3, NIV)

As a parent, be confident in God’s gifts to you.

God offers us His wisdom. Here’s a promise that every parent should write on their bathroom mirror and engrave on their heart:

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously without finding fault, and it will be given to him. (James 1:5, NIV)

God gives us His Spirit. We have the presence, the love, the inner strength, the unshakable peace of God Himself. Just trust Him.

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23, NIV)

God is the Father of each and every one of us. He is your Father, and He is the Father of your children. The wisdom, the love, the strength, and the ultimate responsibility are all His. You are only His steward for awhile.

Realize that of all His names and titles, God cherishes “Father” the most. “Father” is what He wants us to call Him. And in His love for you, He has graciously given you a part in His most treasured role: parenting new human lives, lives that will last forever. Parent your children in His love, His strength, and His wisdom. Parent them in simple, daily confidence in God, not yourself.

He is always, always with you — just remember to depend on Him.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: A Father’s Prayer
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You Are Our Father

2015-10-08 Devotional with Hymn, Pictures of God No comments

from the devotional book, PICTURES OF GOD

Read Isaiah 63:15 – 64:12

In today’s scripture, God has punished His people for their deep and prolonged sin, and they are crying out to Him. They want Him and need Him to look down on them, remember them, and have mercy on them in their desperate situation. They beg Him to tear open the heavens and come down to them in awesome power, as He did so many times in their past.

In their sinfulness, what is their basis for coming to Him and boldly asking for such help?

You are our Father, though Abraham does not know us
And Israel does not recognize us.
You, O Lord, are our Father. (Isaiah 63:16, NASB)

Even when our earthly fathers fail us and cannot or do not help us, in a truer, deeper sense, God is our Father. We are most truly and fundamentally His children. That thought is expressed again a few verses later:

But now, O Lord, You are our Father,
We are the clay, and You are our potter;
And all of us are the work of Your hand. (Isaiah 64:8, NASB)

As earthly parents, we desperately want the very best for our children. But as they grow older, we increasingly realize that we can’t touch them and shape them in the areas that matter most. They are becoming, or have become, their own persons. Other voices and other examples are now influencing them.

Take comfort in the fact that God was their Father long before we were, and He will still be so when we’re gone. His Spirit is close to them in times and places and ways we can’t be. He will guide and provide for them far beyond our own ability.

Your children are most truly and fundamentally His children. Pray for them as such. Respect them as such – as fellow human beings before our Father. Trust them to Him, and make yourself completely available to Him. Let our Eternal Father be the father to your children, and allow Him to father them through you.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: A Father’s Prayer
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics