Luke 2:52
Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people.
After traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover, Mary and Joseph were making the return trip back home with other faithful travelers when they became concerned over not knowing the whereabouts of their son. Where was Jesus? As any good and loving parents would, they began frantically searching for their twelve-year-old son. After finding him in the Temple, a few days later, they returned home with him, their hearts and minds at ease having found him. It is after this occurrence of events that we see a simple and vague description of Jesus’ life from the age of twelve till he comes on the scene of his baptism and public ministry at the age of thirty. Yet, it is this one sentence that summarizes 18 years of our Lord’s life that has been a spiritual staple in my prayers for my children. As I read these verses this morning, I couldn’t help but follow Mary’s example and ponder how God has answered this prayer, rooted in His Word, for my children in many ways. I want to take a moment and share some of the ways that came to mind this morning concerning how the Lord has answered this prayer in my children’s lives. My purpose in doing so is twofold. First, to praise the LORD who hears my cry, and two, maybe to inspire you to pray this for your children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or children that call your church home.
The LORD has blessed my children with good health; they are all able to enjoy sports, being outside, and fishing without any difficulty. I know it is only by God’s grace that I can say these things. My oldest daughter was diagnosed with IIH a few years ago, and the Lord has mercifully protected her eyesight and blessed us with a great optometrist. We are hoping that she will be able to phase out the medicine over the next year. My wife and my children hadn’t done anything to deserve this blessing, and I know things could change for any of us at any moment, but this morning, I humbly praise the Lord for His mercy, grace, and favor in allowing my children to grow in stature. My heart aches, and my spirit aches with those who cannot say the same about their health or their children’s health.
When it comes to seeing God answer the prayers for growing in wisdom and in favor with Him, here are a few ways I must praise Him today. First, he saved my three oldest at a young age. On nights, they couldn’t sleep, and I found myself rocking or laying with them, I would ask the Lord to save them at a young age and in a genuine way. I am doing the same with my youngest son as well in faith that my Heavenly Father will answer my desire for him in the same way He did for my oldest children. I can’t think of a more excellent way for my children to experience God’s favor than to be in a relationship with Him through Jesus and, therefore, share all the blessings that come with such a position. It is in and through this relationship that I have seen my three oldest grow in wisdom. Through learning how to pray and wrestle with the Bible for themselves and being blessed with a fantastic church family, I see them make wise decisions in choosing their friend groups, media choices, and what they view as important in life. I pray they will continue to grow in wisdom by fearing the LORD and putting His Word into practice because of their love for Him. I pray that as they understand the depths of God’s love for them, their love for Him will multiply, too.
Seeing how God has been so generous to my children in finding favor with people causes my eyes to water. Gavin has two preschool teachers who took the time to pray for him and each other student by name before the school year started. My wife teaches at the same school and shared Gavin’s story with his lead teacher a year or two ago. Come to find out, she had been praying that she would have her life affected by his since that conversation with my wife. She loves my son, and regardless of what he says, he is fond of her, too. At church, there are some men that Gavin thinks hung the moon (Keith, Chris, Micah), and they love that boy as only men can. For my oldest, she has been blessed with such a great friend group. When it comes to my daughters and their desire to serve their Savior through song, they have been blessed with two people who are not only great worship leaders but also people who once again model what it means to love the Lord and His people. I am seeing God answer another prayer as well, though it’s in the beginning stages. I have been praying that my kids’ closest relationships will come from their youth group with other believers. I want them to have unchurched friends for sure; that’s their mission field as followers of Jesus, but I long for their closest friendships to be with other believers.
My oldest son has a few friends at school, but only a few. It isn’t that he isn’t friendly or likable, but sometimes it can be a right lonely path when you are choosing friends wisely. But I am thankful for his tutor. She lost her mother recently, and she said for some reason, Landyn just reminded her of her mom in many ways, and they have just bonded this year. This bond is so great that she gave Landyn a giraffe figurine after discovering he likes giraffes. The story of why this is so special is that the figurine belonged to her mother, but she wanted Landyn to have it. What favor my Father has shown me in these ways of answering my prayer for my children.
Am I, my wife, or my kids, anything special? No, we are sinners saved by God’s grace through faith who still stumble and fall. Does our family always get along? No, just ask those who drove down the road this morning as I took my four-year-old to the car barefoot, with pants and a tee shirt on, while he was kicking and screaming, and it being 40 degrees outside. No, we do not deserve any of these things mentioned in this post and many others for that matter. Still, as I pondered these things this morning and wrote them down in my journal, I felt impressed to share them with you in hopes that the Spirit will use these personal reasons to praise Him in your life to bring you closer to the Father and the Son.
Will you ponder in your heart all the ways that God has heard your prayers and responded? If so, may this reflecting lead you to worship by writing a list of answered prayers down and then thanking God for them in prayer. If you already faithfully journal, read back over its pages and see where God has moved on your behalf or that of others and give Him thanks.
You might read this praise of mine and feel as if it leaves you with more questions and anger than anything else. You hadn’t seen God’s favor in answered prayer, your loved one’s health, relationships, etc. Please, allow these emotions to bring you into the Father’s presence. He is a big enough God to handle our emotions, whatever they might be, if the book of Psalms teaches us anything, it teaches us this truth. Bring them to Him and then sit in silence and allow His Spirit to minister to you.
Finally, I plead with you to pray this verse and other Scripture over yourself and those children in your lives. Simply, pray this verse for the children in your life like this,
Daddy, I pray that you will help Landyn grow in wisdom. I pray that as he reads your word and hears it taught, that your Spirit will help him know how to apply it to life.
Father, I pray that you will increase the favor that Zoey has with others. Please help her to make friendships with those who will draw her closer to You and also with those that You can draw closer to Yourself through her.
Lord, I thank you for sustaining Hayden’s eyes, I pray that You will continue to allow the medicine to effectively treat the IIH. I pray that you will protect her kidneys and every other part of her body from the long-term use of the medicine. I also pray that You will see fit to allow her to wean off the medicine completely.
Finally, Holy Spirit, I pray that Gavin will find favor with God. That You will convict him of his sin and show him his need for a Savior. I pray that he will come to You at a young age in and in a genuine way. Amen.
Or, simply pray that, (Insert Child’s Name) will grow in wisdom, stature, and in favor with God and others, Amen.
Then when you see Him move according to His Word and will, ponder these things in your heart and use them as a catalyst for worship of our great and loving God.
For more on this passage, refer to the Luke 2:41-52 Study Notes.
Leave a Reply