Prayer and Purity

Series: The Princess and the Kiss--Part 2

Leslie Basham: When was the last time you poured out your heart in prayer on behalf of your child?

“Father, I just want thank you for my princess Anna Joy. Lord, I surrendered her as a baby. I’ve surrendered her through the years. I surrender her now back to you.”

It’s Thursday, December 1st, and this is Revive Our Hearts with Nancy Leigh DeMoss.

A lot of parents pray for their children if they’re being especially difficult or hard to get along with or when they have a big test at school or when they’re sick. But most of us don’t spend the time we should praying proactively for our children that God would develop certain characteristics in them or that He would protect their sexual purity. And Nancy, that’s something one group of moms did recently with their daughters.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss: That’s right, Leslie. All this week we’ve been talking about the importance of parents teaching their children to guard their hearts when it comes to staying pure. We’ve been trying to help you catch the vision for what that can look like by highlighting what this particular group of moms and their daughters did.

They worked their way through a resource we produced here at Revive Our Hearts called Life Lessons from the Princess and the Kiss. At the end of that book there are instructions for how to hold a princess ceremony. I had the privilege of participating in the princess ceremony that these moms did with their daughters.

I have to tell you that I think the sweetest moment of the whole evening was at the end when each of the moms, one at a time, prayed a special blessing over her daughter. I’ll tell you that there wasn’t a dry eye in the room by the time we were done.

You may want to reach for a tissue yourself as we listen to these moms praying over their daughters asking God to bless them.

Woman 1: Father, I thank you for my daughter. She is a true treasure. God, I pray that You would just continue to grow her heart and her love for You so deep. God, I pray that You would keep her heart pure, and that You would guard her as she stands in a life committed to You.

I pray that she would keep things out of her life that would help her to fall. God, I pray that You would put things in her life that would help her to grow. God, I pray that she would save her heart, her mind, her kiss and her body for her husband. God, I pray that You would bless that union and that You would give her blessings of children that want to walk in Your obedience.

I pray, God, that You would begin a legacy of purity with Ashley. I pray that You would honor her. And God, I pray that You would give her strength to carry it out. And I pray that You would help her to be bold. Help her not to fear what man can say or what society says, God, but help her be more afraid of what You think and to love You. God, I thank You for her. I definitely don’t deserve such a wonderful child, God, but I praise You and I thank You for letting us have her. It’s in Your name I pray, amen.

Woman 2: Father, I thank You for Shannon, and I thank You for the girl that she is and how much she loves You and for her passion and her excitement, God, and the way that she studies Your Word. Dear God, I pray that she would never, ever quit. God, I pray that You would help her to live a life of purity, to live a life that’s clean before You. Help her to have a clean heart and clean hands.

God, I pray that You’d provide a husband for her that has a clean heart and clean hands and who has a passion for You. God, I pray that You would help both of them to wait for that special wedding day. God, I pray that You would bless Shannon as she’s growing older and help her be bold about her purity. Help her to walk in Your ways and give her Scripture to stand on when the enemy attacks her.

God, I pray that You would help her to have a home that’s set apart, God, that You would give her a home that’s for You, that You would give her children that would live a legacy of purity. God, I pray that that purity would not just be physical, but it would be in her mind and in her heart. It’s in your name that I pray, amen.

Woman 3: Father, thank You so much for giving us Lauren. Thank you, Father, that You knew exactly what we needed, that we needed Lauren Grace to be a part of our family. Father, I ask right now that You would protect her. I pray that You would enable her to save her kiss for that special man. Lord, I pray when that special man comes that he would become her best friend.

I pray that she will not just marry anybody, Lord, but that she will marry the man that You have chosen for her—that she will marry the best man for Lauren. And God, I thank You . . . I thank You, Lord, that You love her more than we do and You love her more than anyone can possibly love her. Thank You for the special time, Father. In Your name I pray, amen.

Woman 4: Father, thank You for Emily. Thank You, Father, that You knew that we needed Emily. Thank You, Father, for her love and her obedience. I pray that You will protect her in the many years that are ahead of her. Father, I pray for her that the man that You bring to her, if that’s what You bring, Lord, that he would be her best friend before they get married, Lord.

God, thank You for this book and for the opportunity to share with Emily about saving her kiss. I so wish I had heard this at this age. And Lord, I thank You that she doesn’t have to grow up not knowing that saving her kiss is the best thing for her. Father, please bless her and continue throughout her life to help her to save that kiss for that special man. In Your name I pray, amen.

Woman 5: God, I often wonder what I did to deserve such a daughter. I am so blessed to have her in my life and so blessed to know that she is so far beyond where I was at her age in knowing You, in knowing what purity is, and being such an amazing young woman of God.

I pray for Your Holy Spirit to anoint Vashti with the ability to share with her friends, the ability to stand up for what is right, the ability to be a woman of grace and strength and beauty before You, Father. I pray that on the lonely days You would encourage her and You would just fill her heart with joy in knowing that You are her bridegroom, and she will stand before You one day pure and ready to see You, Lord.

I thank You for the future for her, whatever it holds, and I ask that You would make her every dream that You’ve given her come true, Lord. Thank You for her life. Thank You for getting to be her mom. Thank You for my princess. I bless Your name, Lord. In Jesus’ name I pray.

Woman 6: Heavenly Father, I thank You so much for my little princess, Melody Kay, for my little song of purity. Lord, would You continue to grow her up to be a godly woman? I know at times it will be hard to make the choices that she’s committing herself to because everybody around her will seem like they’re going a different way, and they are.

Lord, but she’s making a choice to be different and set apart from the world around her. And Lord, I pray that You would give her grace to carry out this commitment that she’s made to keep herself pure, to make different choices, to walk a different path from everyone in the world around her.

When they’re making different choices than she is, give her the strength and the courage to look to You as her heavenly prince, her heavenly husband, that she would set her heart upon You, and that she would set the Lord always before her. I pray that You would give her wisdom and strength and discernment, that You would protect her, help her purity and her life to be a radiant example of Your grace and Your glory to those around her.

Lord, would You just pour out Your richest blessings upon her. Use her life to impact others. Lord, I know that the choices that she makes in keeping herself pure for You will bring rewards that she can’t even imagine. And I thank You, Lord, for this special time, for this special little girl. I love her, and I love You, Lord. And I just thank You for blessing our home with Melody. Help her to know how much we love her and how much we pray for her to be a godly woman for your glory. In Jesus’ name.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss: We’ve been listening to the sound of what I like to think of as the rumblings of a counter-revolution. Moms who have proactively chosen to swim upstream against the culture’s tide in the standards they’re challenging their daughters with and in this case, prayer for their daughters. I hope their model encourages you to earnestly pray for the purity of your children and your grandchildren, or perhaps as a single woman, for the purity of your friend’s children.

Leslie Basham: Well Nancy, we’re going to hear more of those countercultural sounds tomorrow with some more prayers from moms, and we’ll also hear from a couple of dads who are concerned for their sons’ purity.

These moms and dads have used some very helpful tools to broach the subject of moral purity with their kids. They are: The Princess and the Kiss for the girls and The Squire and the Scroll for boys. These are simple yet profound stories with a deeper meaning written to help parents unpack as much or as little as their children need to understand about purity depending on their age.

You can also order a meaningful gift for your child: a special Princess Prayer Box Necklace for the girls and a totally cool Shield and Lantern Watch for the boys. These gifts will help your child remember some of the principles of purity they’ve learned.

If you’d like to order any of these items, just visit ReviveOurHearts.com. You can look at pictures of the books and gifts that I’ve been talking about. If you prefer to call, you may do that by dialing 1-800-569-5959.

Nancy, yesterday you spoke to us about something special going on here in December.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss: Leslie, a few moments ago I spoke of a countercultural revolution that we’re hoping we can help ignite as moms and dads all across this country train their children to think biblically. This month every gift that you give toward the ministry of Revive Our Hearts will be doubled by a friend of the ministry who wants to see this counter-revolution take place. They’ve agreed to match every donation we receive between now and December 31st dollar for dollar up to a maximum of $250,000. We’re asking the Lord to provide that amount and far above and beyond that amount if it would please Him, so we can continue to call women to join us in this counter-revolution.

Leslie Basham: If you’d like to donate to Revive Our Hearts, you can do so at our website ReviveOurHearts.com or by calling 1-800-569-5959.

As I mentioned, tomorrow’s show promises to be further encouragement to parents everywhere who want to do a better job praying for and teaching their children to keep themselves pure. I hope you can join us for another edition of Revive Our Hearts.

Revive Our Hearts with Nancy Leigh DeMoss is an outreach of Life Action Ministries.

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