I will never forget what an amazing blessing it was when we had our first boy after 3 beautiful girls. He stole my heart from day one, and I immediately realized that raising him was going to be a very different adventure. I still cherish the memories of him taking his plastic sword and sticking it in his Bob the Builder underwear, pulling it out deftly and conquering all the (invisible) enemies in his path. He was 3. Or sleepovers in his teepee tent, baseball with his Grandpa, and of course, years of dressing up as Anakin or Obi Wan Knobe. We still have quite a collection of light sabers.
The last few years however, have been quite a time of transformation. My sweet little warrior has entered the teen zone. Mood swings, rebellion, attitudes, laziness...well, if you are reading this, you understand. And just when we're ready to send him off to military school, he will be kind and sweet, funny and even appreciative.
A lot has been written about these years; the effects of fluctuating testosterone levels, how boys tend to need much more of dad's input then moms, how to prepare them for responsible adulthood.. and so much more. I've read quite a bit and it has helped tremendously. And yet....
I have such a burden for my son, and his friends, and their friends. Having two adult children and another who was 23 when she went to heaven, I see how quickly they become adults. How they handle the issues they are facing right now is going to strongly affect what kind of adults they become. If we just "hope" it all turns out in all right, we could be setting ourselves up for great heartache in the future. I think we all know that. So, aside from utilizing great resources, getting godly counsel, keeping them connected to a good church and working at being a team (in our marriages) when it comes to parenting, what else can we do to ensure our son's success in the future? Ultimately, our sons will choose their own paths, no matter what we do. But the greatest influence we have as parents is through prayer.
As I was praying this week for my son, for his friends, for sons of my friends, for prayer requests on Facebook regarding boys, I felt the Lord say "bring women together who have teenage sons and unite in prayer for their souls, for their futures". I believe this is a crucial time to stand on the many promises of scripture we have and believe for our boys to become the men of God they have been destined to. Through prayer and fasting, we can claim those promises for our boys and speak words of life and victory over them. Ephesians 6:12 "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."
I have set up this blog that we might encourage one another in this challenge. I will be posting scriptures and prayers and general prayer requests from week to week. I have set aside Wednesdays as our prayer day. Each Wednesday, we will cry out to the Lord for our sons. We will ask for wisdom to be the moms we are supposed to be, no more, no less. We will ask for patience and love. We will pray for their choices, their thoughts, their friends, but most of all, we will pray for their hearts. We will ask the Lord to give them hearts after the Lord, like King David. We will ask him to soften the hard places, heal the hurting areas and guard the areas the enemy has targeted.
And we will pray for their fathers. Our sons need their dads to be the major authority in their lives; to affirm them, love them, to give them structure and security and to train them in the details of being a man. Some of our men can do that, some will, some won't. Some have had pretty harsh dads themselves. But God is asking us to honor Him, pray for our husbands as well and pick up whatever is lacking through prayer. It is the most important job we have right now as mothers.
I have an Facebook page set up for this as well. I'd love to receive your prayer requests for Wednesday prayer. Each person can pray and/or fast as they are led. Please let other moms of teenage sons know about this. If they are believers, ask them to pray with us. If they are not, just tell them we'll be praying for their son and see what God will do.
Join me in this journey for the next few years. Let's speak of our boys as the mighty grown warriors they will be; men of integrity and honor, respectful and responsible, godly and mature, amazing husbands and fathers to be. Even if your son is doing well, serving the Lord wholeheartedly, he still needs our prayers!
This is just the beginning. These are not just our sons and part of our family. They are our future leaders and businessmen, husbands and fathers. They will determine what the next generation will look like and I am believing as we fight for them through prayer, their future and our children's children is going to be the best generation ever, serving the Lord and accomplishing great and mighty things for His kingdom. Amen!
Please feel free to post scriptures and encouraging prayers or requests right here as well.
And don't be overwhelmed no matter how hard the week or day with your son, remember, "the battle is the Lords". (1 Samuel 17:47)
To join Facebook group, just add me and comment BOYS! https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/407547239299329/
No comments:
Post a Comment