So What about Proverbs 22:6?

Are you a parent who has a child that is on a wayward track? Did you seek to fulfill Proverbs 22:6, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it."? And now you wonder what happened to that beloved toddler who sang, "Jesus Loves Me.” This blog is dedicated to parents who have a "prodigal" child. For parents who despair over life choices of their child.

Together let's explore this verse a little deeper and learn how we can pray for our wayward children. The following is an excerpt from my Bible study, Perplexing Proverbs.

"Proverbs 22:6 is one of most frequently quoted of the Proverbs. At first glance, it seems to say that if we train our children correctly, they will surely be obedient, godly adults. Do I hear parental groans from those of us who have rebellious children? Before you begin to feel guilty, we need to take a closer look at how the total concept of this verse should be understood. We are going to look at two slightly different commentaries on this verse.

The first comes from Hard Sayings of the Bible. Concerning Proverbs 22:6, it states,
'The statement is called a proverb, not a promise. Many godly parents have raised their children in ways that were genuinely considerate of the children’s own individuality and the high calling of God, yet the children have become rebellious and wicked.'

There is, however, the general principle which sets the standard for the majority. This principle urges parents to give special and detailed care with the awesome task of rearing children so that the children may continue in that path long after the lessons have ceased.[i]

The Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible offers another interpretation. The explanatory notes for Proverbs 22:6 make the following observations,
'The quality of training which the child receives is of critical concern. Parents should not assume that simply bringing their children up in a moral atmosphere is all that is needed. The primary goal in training up a child is that he is educated in the knowledge of God, but he should also be provided with a thorough preparation for life in general. When a child does choose to rebel and lead a corrupt life, it is often the parents who have failed in teaching or setting an example. It must be recognized, however, that there will be instances when the parents have done their best to correctly train a child, yet he will choose to reject the instruction he has received and go his own way.'[ii]

Do you see that we are responsible for our children, yet they are also responsible for their own decisions in life?

So what can we do? We can pray for our children. From my own personal experience I found praying Scripture is not only effective, it is uplifting to the parent who may be struggling. That’s why tomorrow we pray.

[i] Kaiser, Walter, C. Jr.; Peter H. Davids; F.F. Bruce; Manfred T. Brauch. Hard Sayings of the Bible, (Illinois: Inter-Varsity Press, 1996) P.288
[ii] Zodhiates, Spiros, Th.D. Exe. Ed., Hebrew-Greek Study Bible. (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 1996), p. 761.