Modeling Prayer for Your Children

Leslie Basham: Nancy Leigh DeMoss says you have an opportunity to show your kids the glory of God.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss: The apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14 that when people come into our churches—that includes our children and our teenagers—they are supposed to see such an incredible evidence of God’s power that they fall on their faces and worship and say, “Truly, God is in this place.”

Now, why aren’t kids saying that? Because they’re not seeing it.

Leslie: This is Revive Our Hearts with Nancy Leigh DeMoss. It’s Tuesday, August 19.

Here’s Nancy, picking up in a series called How to Pray for Your Children.

Nancy: It’s been a blessing to have Fern Nichols and Marlae Gritter with us on the program this week from Moms In Touch International.

School is starting just around the corner. Fern, I know the burden the Lord has put on your heart is that there would be a Moms In Touch prayer group or a group of praying moms in every school in the country.

Fern Nichols: Yes. Why would we not want what’s happening in our school—the changes that are being made, the curriculums that are being changed, the teachers that are being saved—to happen in every school?

Our vision is that every school—120,000 schools in the United States—will have two or more praying moms (a group can be two—two or three gathered together) for every school in our nation. If you just think about that for a second, that’s 120,000. If we have two moms, that’s 240,000 moms every week crying out to God for their children in that school.

Then you can just kind of mentally think how the math would go. You don’t pray just for your child, but then you pray for maybe one or two other children. You pray for the teacher.

So millions are being prayed for, if every school was covered. God will change our schools. Light will come to our schools, and that’s Jesus.

Nancy: I want to encourage our listeners, especially those who have children of school age, to ask, “Is there a Moms In Touch prayer group in my child’s school?” It may be a home school or a group of home-school moms; maybe a Christian school, a public school, a private school.

If there’s not a Moms In Touch prayer group or a group of praying moms in your child’s school, then I want to encourage you to ask the Lord, “Do You want me to be a part of helping to make something like that happen?”

If you want to know how to get involved in a group, how to find a group near you, or how to start one if that’s what God is putting on your heart, go to our website, and we’ll link you to Moms In Touch. We have the booklet available through our Resource Center this week that tells how you can start a group. [Note - available through MITI]

Fern’s book is available on our website: Every Child Needs a Praying Mom. Every mom needs to read Fern’s book. I hope that many, many moms will be ordering that this week.

Now, Fern and Marlae, for women who have not been part of a group like this, give us a description of what takes place, an overview of what happens in those Moms In Touch prayer groups.

Fern: What happens in that hour is a focused time on God. We work to keep that focus there and not on talking, because we love to chat. Mothers love to chat and tell all the stories and everything.

For that one hour we use what is called the Four Steps of Prayer to keep us praying and not talking, to keep our eyes on the Lord. There are four simple principles of prayer that are laid out in the Bible: praise, confession, thanksgiving, and intercession.

What happens with these four steps is this: We come in with all of our baggage of what’s going on in our lives. When we come together, we immediately look up. It’s a time in which we’re seeing God on the throne in one of His attributes. It’s a powerful time of praise.

Confession is very important in light of the fact that if we regard iniquity in our heart, He won’t hear us [see Psalm 66:18]. We just can’t waltz into the Holy of Holies and demand things of God when our hearts are not right.

If we don’t walk in the light as He is in the light, having fellowship with one another [see 1 John 1:7], He can’t hear our prayers. It’s very, very important that we ask God to show us anything in our heart that displeases Him so that we might confess it.

Confession is just agreeing with God that it’s sin. And the blood cleanses. That’s what we love about the cross. It continues to cleanse.

Nancy: Marlae, as you’re going through these different prayer steps, I assume you’re using the Scripture to direct your praying?

Marlae Gritter: Yes, and we use Scripture throughout. I think a point with the confession is, it’s always silent, so women aren’t feeling like they have to confess to everyone. It’s just a real “God and you” time to stop and say, “Lord, show me today, before I go into the prayer time, what’s in my heart that I need to confess?” It’s a powerful time every week.

Fern: Every week. So with the praise and the confession, there’s a lot of Scripture—especially in the praise time, when we choose an attribute of God. We look in the Word of God at what God says about Himself, because that truly is the important thing. That’s truth.

In confession, we also use 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness,” to cleanse us from all those things we don’t even know yet. If we did, it would probably be too overwhelming. He can only show us a little bit at a time.

Then we go into this wonderful time of thanksgiving, first of all thanking God for the cleansed sin, and then going into the time of thanking God for all that He answered that week.

Many, many times we had weeks that we came together that every single one of our prayers were answered, the specific prayers for our children. It was like the whole hour could have been a thanksgiving.

Then there are times—two years, three years—we’re still praying that specific request for that child. But it’s a precious time of giving thanks to God.

You know, when we give thanks, we can’t be depressed. It’s because when we’re giving thanks, we’re saying, “God, this is Your plan. This is how You did it, and I thank You for it, for the answer. I also thank You that You haven’t answered it yet, because You’ve got the plan.”

Then, during our time of intercession, we definitely use Scripture. We pray for our children a specific Scripture and a specific request. Then we pray for the teachers and the staff. We pray for the school, and we pray for Moms In Touch.

So it just flows throughout the hour. We have a little sheet that they can get online; it’s called a member’s sheet. It just takes you visually right from one step to the other. Then you can record your thanksgivings, because sometimes we forget.

Then we record our intercessions, our requests before the Lord. When Marlae and I demonstrate this, these four steps that we use in the Moms In Touch hour, then I will be praying for Makayla throughout the week because we’re partners, and she’ll be praying for my Joshua. I have right with me the specific request.

Nancy: Marlae, I know there are a lot of people for whom the thought of praying out loud or in public terrifies them. And then they think, “I’ve got to pray this big, long prayer? It’s got to be eloquent? I can’t pray!”

For a lot of people, that’s really a scary thought. What do you do in those groups to make it so that really anybody can participate?

Marlae: That’s a great question.

First of all, we say to the women that come, “Don’t stay away because you’re afraid to pray.” I was afraid to pray out loud many years ago. Now I’ve been doing it many years and I’m comfortable. But we don’t want anyone to stay away.

As I was obedient to come to pray with those women, I began to get courage and realize that it was okay if I stepped out. Sometimes you’re afraid of your own voice.

But we don’t make anyone pray. We say, “If you’re uncomfortable, I’d love to just pray for your child.” What also helps is as we learn the “one accord” method; when we pray in Moms In Touch, we pray short prayers.

I’ll pray for my Makayla just the thought that’s on my heart, and then she’ll come back in one accord agreeing with that. She’ll finish my sentences, in a sense, and it’s like we’re coming around the child.

So it’s not like you feel like you have to be this wonderful pray-er. It’s short little things that are on your heart.

It’s a wonderful way to pray, because you really are in agreement. We leave Moms In Touch feeling like, “We have so watered my child, just poured it over him, because it wasn’t just me; it was the other mom agreeing.”

Nancy: Fern and Marlae, I would love for our listeners to be able to be like a fly on the wall and sit in for a few minutes here on a Moms In Touch prayer meeting.

I wonder if the two of you would take these next moments and pray as you would in a Moms In Touch prayer time. And those of us in the room here and those listening are going to join.

Perhaps as you’re praying for your Makayla and your Joshua, those of you who are listening can put your child’s name or your grandchild’s name in these prayers, in these Scriptures, and personalize these prayers for your own family.

I don’t want us to just “spectate” as these women pray, but really to join our own hearts in praying as we listen to them.

So if you could just pray through some of those segments as you would in a Moms In Touch meeting, I want to give our listeners a taste for that and a chance also to pray for the children that are on their hearts.

Marlae: Great. We’d love to.

Fern: Marlae, I am so excited about our prayer time today, because the attribute God has laid on my heart is that God is faithful. We are going to be praising God that He is a faithful God.

When we think about the word faithful, what are some of the words that come to mind?

Marlae: I think of constant, somebody that, I just know they’re going to be there.

Fern: Loyal?

Marlae: Dependable. The Lord is never going to not hear my prayer. He doesn’t go to sleep. He’s always there.

Fern: Right. I’ve chosen three Scripture verses about God being faithful. Would you read Lamentations 3:22-23?

Marlae: I’d love to. Lamentations says, “God’s mercies never fail. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness.”

Fern: Psalm 145:13, “The Lord is faithful to his promises and loving toward all he has made.”

Will you also read Psalm 100:5?

Marlae: Psalm 100:5 says, “For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”

Fern: Let’s praise Him.

Oh, heavenly Father, we thank You for the truth of Your Word that You are our faithful God.

Marlae: That You are so dependable that I never have to feel like You are not going to be there.

Fern: You are constant and You are true. You say to us that Your mercies are new every single morning.

Marlae: Oh, Lord, I so love that thought that every time I wake up, Your faithfulness in a sense starts over and is there for what I need that day.

Fern: Father, You are faithful to forgive sin. I pray that You would show us now if there is anything in our heart that is displeasing to You, that we might confess it. You promise that if we confess our sin, You will be faithful and just to forgive and to cleanse from all unrighteousness.

[Time of silence]

Lord, as we go into our thanksgiving time, as Marlae and I prayed last week that Joshua would be able to make some good friends in his little kindergarten class, I thank You how he just rejoiced one day, coming home to his mom and saying, “All the friends!” Everyone in his class is his friend.

Marlae: Oh, Lord, I so thank You for Joshua’s friends—that You have answered that prayer. You so know what this sensitive little boy needs in friends. Thank You for caring about that for Joshua.

And I thank You so much that Makayla has been able to settle down and focus in kindergarten, as she has had a hard time adjusting. I thank you how You are helping her to settle down, and for the good report that came home about that yesterday.

Fern: Lord, we so pray that Makyla would not be distracted. Lord, You answered specifically. I thank You also that she can focus now on what the teacher is saying and be able to do the things that she needs to do in the class.

Marlae: And I thank You that the teacher was so willing to go the extra step to work out a little program for her to succeed.

Fern: Well, Marlae, as we go on to intercession now, the verse that I’ve chosen for our kids today is Isaiah 38:3.

Oh, heavenly Father, may Joshua walk before You faithfully and with wholehearted devotion, and do what is good in Your eyes.

Marlae: Oh, Lord, I just want to agree with the words from this Scripture, that Joshua, with Your help, will walk before You faithfully and that he will have wholehearted devotion and do what is good in Your eyes.

Fern: Lord, when I think of walking, it’s step by step. I pray that in his little heart and life, the steps spiritually would be solid.

Marlae: And that as he grows in his walk with You, that he will learn early in his little life what it means to be totally sold out to You—that it won’t just be part of his heart, but it will be his whole heart.

Fern: Lord, I am very excited about what You’re doing in Makayla’s little heart. I thank You that You will be faithful to reveal Yourself to her, and because of that love, she will only want to faithfully walk with and serve You.

Marlae: Oh yes, Lord, that she will learn early in life that You are her all, that You are everything that she needs.

Fern: Lord, that truly she would only want to please You, that she would love Your Word.

Heavenly Father, we know that You’ve heard our cries. You tell us that if we will call to You, You will answer, and that if we pray according to Your will, it will be done. Our hope is in You, Jesus. In Christ’s name, amen.

Nancy: Father, I would add my prayer to these. Thank You for these women that You have raised up for such a time as this, and for the burden that You put on Fern’s heart and then Marlae’s all these years ago—for these thousands of groups that are praying this week and will be throughout the school year for our children and our schools.

Lord, I pray Your blessing on this ministry. I pray that You would grant the desire of their hearts that there would be a group of praying moms in every one of those 120,000 schools in this country.

They’re our sister ministry; they are partners with us in this mission of calling women to freedom and fullness and fruitfulness in Christ. I pray Your blessing on them—on their staff, on their marriages, on their children and grandchildren.

Lord, would You be pleased to answer the prayers that we’ve prayed, and grant a revival of Christ-seeking and Christ-following in this next generation? We pray it for Jesus’ sake and for the advance of Your great kingdom, amen.

Leslie: Nancy Leigh DeMoss has been praying for moms and children who are getting back into the routine of school. She’ll be right back with some thoughts from Psalm 90.

Our guests today have been Fern Nichols and Marlae Gritter from Moms In Touch International. To learn more about that ministry and to connect with praying moms in your area, visit our website.

When you visit our website, you’ll also learn more about praying for Revive Our Hearts. Our listeners hold this ministry up through prayer and donations. It’s the means by which we come to you each day.

When you support us in this way, we’re helping women find freedom, fullness, and fruitfulness in Christ. Donate online at ReviveOurHearts.com, or call 800-569-5959.

Nancy has taught on several different women in the Bible, such as Mary and Esther. These have been rich studies, and our listeners have gotten a lot of new insight from their stories.

Tomorrow she’ll launch a new study on the life of Miriam. If you’re not that familiar with this character, you’ll learn a lot as you get to know her.

Now let’s get back to Nancy.

Nancy: Psalm 90:16—this is a prayer of Moses, the man of God. You think of Moses as the lawgiver and the one who brought the children of Israel out of Egypt and took them across the Red Sea and right up to the Promised Land. So many exploits that God allowed him to do.

But in his prayer in Psalm 90, he prays something that I think needs to be on the heart of every woman of God today. He said, “Let your work be shown to your servants.” That’s us!

Lord, we want to see Your work. We want to see Your hand. We want to see what only You can do. We want to see the supernatural.

“Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children.” I think that’s a prayer that we need to make ours, as the listeners of Revive Our Hearts, of women who participate in this ministry.

Lord, we want to see Your work. We want to see Your reviving hand. We want to see You reviving the hearts of women all across this country, not just them hearing Nancy Leigh DeMoss speak or the wonderful guests we have on Revive Our Hearts.

Lord, we want to see You. We want to see what only You can do. So show us Your works. Show us Your ways. Show us Your hand. But, Lord, would You also show Your glorious power to our children.

Now, I don’t have children of my own, but there are times when I feel such a heavy burden on my heart for your children. And then there are times when I wonder, “Why should I carry more of a burden for other people’s children than some of the parents seem to?”

Now, I know you carry a burden for your children. But I just want to say collectively, whether you have children or not—maybe your children are grown and maybe you’re an empty nester. Maybe you’re the mom with lots of little ones, struggling.

Wouldn’t you like to have some others praying for your children and saying, “Lord, would You show Your glorious power to our children?” They need to see it. They don’t need to just hear our words.

I’m going to tell you what: Your children are not listening to Christian radio; and if they are, they’re not listening to the teaching programs. They’re listening to the music stations, and not many of those. They’ve got their iPods on.

So we’ve got to find ways of getting the Word of God into their hearts. But those of you who are listening to Christian radio, the older generation with me, we need to be praying, “Lord, may our children see Your glorious power.”

And I’m going to tell you why those children are walking away from the Lord and why they’re not walking with God as they’re getting older—I’m talking like 80% of them growing up in the evangelical world today. Which, if that trend continues—I don’t believe it will, but if it does—that could spell the decimation of Christianity, theoretically.

Now, God’s kingdom is going to prevail. But why are they walking away?

It’s because they’ve heard a lot of talk about Christianity, but they have not seen the power of God. The apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14 that when people come into our churches—that includes our children and our teenagers—they are supposed to see such an incredible evidence of God’s power that they fall on their faces and worship and say, “Truly, God is in this place.”

Why aren’t kids saying that? Because they’re not seeing it.

So we need to be praying. We’ve done this as a ministry over the years, and we want to do it in an even more intentional way in the days ahead.

Lord, show us Your wonderful works. We need to see You in fresh new ways. But Lord, would You show Your glorious power to our children?

So we pray, Lord, don’t let these kids just ride the spiritual coattails of their parents. That’s not going to get them to heaven. But would You cause them to have their own personal, experiential, intimate encounters with You? Make Yourself known to them. Let them see Your power. Let them see Your power in our lives.

If your children are not seeing answers to prayer in your home and in your church, why should they believe in God? But if you’re praying, exercising faith, seeking the Lord—if you’re repenting—that’s a glorious work of God. When they see their parents repenting when they sin and making things right with God, when they see their parents seeking forgiveness, that’s the glorious power of God on display.

So my heart for Revive Our Hearts—and I know I’m sounding a little like I’m on a soapbox; I guess I am—is that these kids will see the glorious power of God. So that’s why we’re praying, for God’s sake, for the sake of Christ and His kingdom and His glory.

He deserves to be worshiped. He deserves to be adored and magnified and lifted up.

This next generation desperately needs some who will carry the light of His truth long after we’re in the grave. Who will be the ones who will carry the light and the truth? I pray it will be your children and your grandchildren.

I want to tell you what, it’s not going to happen if we don’t have a generation of praying moms, praying grandmoms, praying women saying, “Lord, capture the hearts of this generation for Jesus Christ.”

My prayer is that Revive Our Hearts will be part, with Moms In Touch and other ministries, of rallying an army of intentional, believing, courageous, bold, pleading women of God who are going to storm heaven and say, “Lord, we’re not going to give You any rest, and we’re not going to take any rest ourselves until You come and visit this generation with Your power.”

And I believe He will. The Lord’s eyes are open to the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry [see Psalm 34:15].

So the question is, Are we righteous, and are we crying? Are we crying out not only for our own lives but for the next generation?

Oh, Lord, let Your works be known, shown to Your servants, and Your glorious power to their children. We pray it for Jesus’ sake and in His great name, amen.

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