This probably isn’t the first time you’ve heard me say this, but I think it’s worth repeating. I honestly don’t have a formula for raising godly children. Why? Because I don’t believe one exists.
Did you know that there are only a few verses in the Bible that even speak directly to the way we’re supposed to raise our children? To me, that means that God gives Christian parents a lot of freedom in their parenting to tailor rules and regulations to the specific needs of their children.
I’m not suggesting that it’s ok to let our children sin (although they will, in spite of our best efforts), or that we shouldn’t set standards, but mostly, God’s Word says to make life about HIM, model HIM, and speak about HIM wherever you are and in everything you do.
It also says that when we need wisdom, we can ask for it, and He’ll freely give it. I don’t know about you, but NOTHING has shown me how much I need God’s wisdom like parenting. And what is prayer except communicating our great need to the One Who has all the answers?
My plan? Get close to God through His Son, Jesus, developing a vibrant relationship with Him for ME (because that’s all I can really control), model that loving relationship to my kids, and pray for wisdom, wisdom, and more wisdom every day.
Prayer is the whole game plan.
The reason I can confidently say this, is because of my first-hand experience and knowledge of what a vibrant prayer life, specifically, praying God’s Word, has done IN ME.
You might be thinking, “wait, Brooke, I’m a praying mom because I want God to do a work in my children…” and that’s ok! Wanting God to do something in the hearts of my children was what brought me to my knees in prayer to start with. But as I sought God’s Word for what to pray for them, several things happened.
(This is straight from my book, Praying Mom, pages 18-19).
- I became more knowledgeable about the Bible itself, and began to understand it for myself.
- My perspective on life changed, and I started to see things God’s way instead of my way.
- I surrendered to God’s truth more and more often.
- Instead of focusing on the chaos of my circumstances, I focused on the Word of God, and allowed it, not my emotions, to interpret my life.
In short, going to God’s Word to seek what to pray for my children, changed ME, and made ME more like Jesus.
Not perfect. Never perfect. Just better.
As I began to apply the Scriptures to everyday things, I formed a theology for life built on God’s Word. My worldview became more biblical and less personal, and in the end, I looked much more like the mom I had wanted to be in the beginning.
THIS is why prayer is my entire parenting game plan.
Not because prayer is some vending machine, transactional relationship between me and God.
No.
Not because prayer is my super power.
No—it’s God Who has all the power.
But because the process of becoming a praying mom has changed me and made me more like Jesus, and THAT is making me the kind of mom my children need.
I tell my entire prayer story inside of my book, Praying Mom: Making Prayer the First and Best Response to Motherhood. If you’d like a free copy of the Foreword (which you should TOTALLY NOT SKIP), the Intro (that goes deeper into what we’ve been talking about here), and Chapter 1 (where we get to the bottom of whether or not prayer actually matters), fill out the form below. It’ll be sent to your email address right away.
💚 Brooke McGlothlin
