Prayer Guide for Dads
Philippians
4:6-7 is a great place to start in praying for your family.
“ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation,
by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
As the
leader of your wife and children, after you’ve learned and lived these
principles you’ll be ready to share them with your family:
Praying is
about Acknowledging God; allowing Him into our lives, both generally and
specifically.
There are
atheists and Christians alike who believe they can handle life without God.
Prayerlessness is a boast against God. A day
without prayer is a day of praising yourself rather than God; what you’re
saying is I can do this without You. I can do my relationships without you, my
finances, my job without you and in essence I can live this life successfully
without you, God.
The Lord
is not going to force his way into our lives because a forced relationship is
of no value. Remember in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve kicked God out of their
lives when they chose Satan’s way; Jesus had to come to take our place, so we
can now have the privilege of having God in our lives. Because of what Christ
has done for us, when we pray, it says to God “I need you in my life, both generally
and specifically; “I need you in my finances, my body, my relationships, I need
you in my decision-making. God absolutely loves that and he responds when we
acknowledge Him.
Prayer builds priority with God.
If Jesus
truly is the most important person in your life, then you have no problem
speaking with Him often. After all, you talk to and listen to people that you
want to get to know; it’s impossible otherwise. When you long to get to know God, these things are part of the relationship,
as well as regularly reading and studying His word. Prayer is a dialogue, not a monologue. I use
to think prayer was a religious act that God required of me daily and of my
church during our worship services. I thought that you do this because if you don’t
God’s not going to be happy with you. I had the wrong concept – the one and
only true living God is a loving God who wants us to love him. God wants time
with his children, just like a loving parent-child relationship does when it is
a mutual loving relationship.
Praying is exercising your
God-given authority.
If you exercise
your authority through praying to God, you will defeat the attacks of the
enemy. Overcoming the temptations Satan throws at us can only be dealt with if
we ask God for His help. God will intervene on our behalf.
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty
hand, that he may lift you up in due time.
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for
you” (1 Peter 5;6-7).
Jesus said, “I know. I saw Satan fall, a bolt of
lightning out of the sky. See what I’ve given you? Safe passage as you walk on snakes and scorpions, and
protection from every assault of the Enemy. No one can put a hand on you. All
the same, the great triumph is not in your authority over evil, but in God’s authority
over you and presence with you. Not what you do for God but what God does for
you—that’s the agenda for rejoicing.”Luke
10:18-20 (MSG)
God has
given us incredible authority in this life. All we have to do is take it and
use it. Therefore, Dads, you don’t have
time not to pray! For example,
suppose you skip a day of prayer, you go out on your own, make a decision
without considering God’s will because you didn’t surrender the matter to God.
That is a dead work that God won’t bless and you may spend months or years
trying to repair the damage that that decision made. Or you could have stopped
to pray, put your faith in God, and surrender to Him. He would speak to you and
bring years of blessings to your life.
Therefore, pray with your family to invite God into your lives, building a priority with God in your family and take hold of your God given authority as the man God has made you to be. You will step up the spiritual growth of your family through your personal prayer life withdrawing to a quiet place to pray where you meet your Father in Heaven that will answer your invitation for help. He is with you and will never forsake you. God is waiting, He longs for your call to Him.
