Sometimes we can be oblivious to the fact that we have an enemy fighting for the hearts and minds of our kids and family and we need to fight! We get caught up in the daily grind just trying to survive another day but there is more to life than that.
I’m not trying to sound like a crazy person or freak you out but the Bible does tell us we have an enemy prowling around like a lion looking to destroy us
(1 Peter 5:7-8). His name is satan/devil and he has others with him fighting to destroy us. That’s the reality!
“Don’t be afraid of the enemy! Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes!”
I really have grown to love this verse but when I read it the other day, I got a kick in the pants. I knew I wasn’t going to the Lord on a daily basis for my husband and child other than generic prayers. I mean I know these things as a believer but for some reason right now I’ve been distracted and lazy in that area. Sometimes we pray for others’ dire specific needs and maybe even our own but we must remember to pray and fight the enemy in our own backyard!
Want to make the enemy really mad and pee their pants? Here’s how… No matter what is going on, continually trusting, continually hoping, continually praying, and continually praising the Lord. It will deal a heavy blow to the enemy no matter how hard they are coming at your kids, your marriage, your friendships, and your family.
There is power in getting specific with needs in your prayer time. Your spouse and kids may not always tell you their current struggles but we can discern what is going on. We sure know what our needs are as well so why not pray about and ask for help? I don’t know about you but I want to be quick to pray. I don’t want to be quick to anger, to panic, to fear, to sin, etc. I just want to be quick to pray so it can not only help in a pinch but can also give me perspective and peace in difficult situations. Know what I’m saying?
For instance, if we have a grumpy 2 year old who is in a fit throwing stage (gee I wonder where this example came from), we can pray for the Lord to help them by giving us wisdom in how to help them manage their emotions in a healthy way and for us to keep calm in the heat of the moment. I mean many adults still can’t manage their emotions so it’s not an easy thing to teach I’m guessing but I’m new to this whole parenting thing!
“But I will hope continually and will praise you yet more and more.”
In the verse above, David is being pursued and persecuted by people who don’t like him or what he stands for. He’s being falsely accused of things. Has any of that ever happened to you?
It sucks doesn’t it? But despite all of that, David chooses to continue to hope, pray, and praise the Lord. He is steadfast, focused on the mission he was put on earth to do which is the same mission we are all called to do: to love God (with all our heart, soul, mind, & strength) and to love others by spreading the gospel message.
So why does it matter if we keep praising the Lord when all chaos breaks out in the world around us or in our own little world? It keeps us centered. It keeps us focused on what truly matters so we don’t get distracted from fulfilling our purpose in life. Not only that but it produces hope in us when hope wouldn’t be produced otherwise.
In life we have to choose many things to keep us sane and focused on the Lord, being about His business. It’s vital to our health, our homes, our families, our relationships, everything!
I’m the first one to say, yeah it’s not easy some days to even put a smile on my face let alone say things in a life giving way. If I don’t though, it just makes me miserable and mad at myself and everyone around me. Do you know what I’m saying or am I just a crazy person 🤷♀️?
Choosing to be hopeful, joyful, to speak life, to praise the Lord, to study the Word, and to trust the Lord all when we don’t feel like it will produce hope. Which in turn helps us produce other good fruits in our lives, fruits of the Holy Spirit. I literally have all the fruits of the Spirit on my phone background. Is it helping me? I’m not sure, I’d like to think so 😆 but that is my goal and I look at it every once in awhile and remember it. Maybe I should put it on my mirror or something…
“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”
We can’t rely on our feelings to guide us, we must choose to follow the Holy Spirit against our natural tendencies that lead to us falling apart. Now as we grow closer in our walk with the Lord, we will naturally begin choosing these things maybe a little easier but it’s still always a choice and we are still going to struggle hard with choosing the right one. But it will always be worth it to give God everything and put Him on the throne of our heart, eyes, ears, mouth, and soul.
My Honest Current Prayer Life
In my life applying this looks like this lately. Praying to the Lord 3 things for me, my family, friends, and other believers. I pray in the morning before the day begins to help equip all of us for the day ahead because Lord knows we need it!
- ‘Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight Lord’
- ‘Help me and all of us to be a light everywhere we go with everything we say and do’
- ‘Please keep us from temptation and deliver us from evil’
So the above prayers to me are generic and honestly I remember to pray that to start our days off about 50% of the time. If I forget, I’ll pause and pray no matter what I’m doing because if I don’t, I’ll forget again (mom brain). Sometimes those verses and prayers come to me later at times and I’ll just say them out loud.
What I haven’t been doing that I’m trying to implement even today is this… In the afternoon during my child’s nap time, I’m going to remember to pray and get real specific with current struggles my family is facing. If I don’t have time then or forget I’ll do it at night when we thank the Lord for everything and pray for good rest, sweet dreams, and protection for us and our friends and family.
We also pray before meals, thanking the Lord for the food and sometimes for specific dire needs we know of in the family or church. Before bed, we pray with our daughter (together if we can) as well. We think she gets bad dreams like I tend to so we always make sure to include that in bedtime prayers for her ‘only good sweet dreams’. When we’re really doing good, my husband Garrett and I pray together alone for things later when Anna is asleep.
When we don’t know what to pray for sometimes, it helps to pray scripture. Really it helps to pray scripture anyway. The 3 prayers above come from scripture. We’re new to the whole family thing and starting a list of Family values, traditions, etc. I’m learning that writing things out helps get everyone on the same page and keep a goal in mind of how we want to live our daily lives.
I encourage you to seek the Bible for specific prayers for not only yourself, but for your family, friends, and brothers and sisters in Christ. We are called to pray over other believers and sometimes it can be overwhelming because there are so many needs but praying scripture can help keep our prayers grounded and manageable.
I can’t emphasize enough how important scripture memorization is for you and teaching your family and kids how to. The Word is alive, active, and very powerful. Scripture you have memorized will come back to you at times when you or others need it most. I’ve put memorizing scripture on the back burner having a toddler but as my kids grow up, I really want to teach them how to do this.
It’s vitally important to have the Word written on our hearts to assist us and our kids when they need it desperately, because they will need it. Not a matter of if, but when and they need to be prepared and equipped with the Word for battle. Knowing the Word (specific verses I had to memorize or chose to memorize) has helped me SEVERAL times in my life. It helps me through things like you wouldn’t believe. Praise the Lord for His holy Word!
The Bottom Line
Our families, friends, and loved ones are worth fighting for! The enemy wants to confuse us at moments so we don’t realize we’re on the same team but the reality is– we are and we need to act like it!
Just praying for our spouses and kids “to not be crazy” isn’t going to get us anywhere, we need to get specific. We need to also pray for ourselves because we have flaws too!
What’s even harder is choosing to do the right thing even when we don’t feel like it. I’m not trying to dishearten you or bring you down by saying that it’s hard, that’s just the reality. But when we do the hard things, we reap great benefits like peace, joy, wisdom, the things you can’t buy in a store.
So let’s choose to fight for our families and friends in prayer! Let’s choose to fight for our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world that are human and struggle! Let’s choose to fight for others to come to know the Lord! Let’s choose joy, hope, to speak life into lifeless situations, to praise the Lord no matter what, and to be quick to pray!
Our world desperately needs the light in us more than ever. We can’t let our flame burn out, we can’t let our praying knees get lazy, we can’t forget to speak the name of Jesus into every situation and dark corner! We must fight!
A Prayer For You
Lord Jesus, I need You. I need You to invade my heart, my mind, my soul and my home with Your presence. Please show me how to become quicker to see the enemy at work– trying to cause discomforts and problems– and quicker to fight in prayer. Please help me to choose joy, to speak life, and to speak the name of Jesus over everything. Help In Jesus’ name I pray, amen!
Stay hopeful!
1 Comment