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Divine Prayers
By Susanne Scheppmann
Key Verse:
“So is my word that goes
out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I
desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” Isaiah
55:11 (NIV)
Devotion:
I
lifted myself from my knees and wiped the tears of frustration from my eyes.
Once again, I felt like my prayers had bounced off the ceiling and rolled into
a dusty corner unheard by God.
Since
my children were babies I had prayed for them.
The prayers continued through their elementary school years. All during those years, I felt peace and
confidence flow throughout my soul—God would be with my children. Of course, I “helped” Him with my wise
mothering and my daily prayers.
However,
adolescence struck my family. Three
teenagers infiltrated the serenity of motherhood. Suddenly, my children didn’t
listen to my wisdom. I couldn’t protect
them from outside influences any longer.
All I could do was watch them spread their wings of independence and fly
out of the cocoon of our home. Their
eyes rolled at my advice. Their mouths
wagged words at me. Their faith
fluctuated.
I
responded with fear and a feeling of failure that haunted my prayers. My words
were cumbersome. My own faith faltered
as I watched each of my children struggle with different issues in their
lives. I asked myself, “What can I say
to God that makes a difference during these tumultuous years?” Discouragement dogged my prayer life.
However,
God didn’t want me to give up. He
brought a friend who had been through a similar experience in her prayer life
and had learned to prayer Scripture for her children. She taught me how to choose a verse from the
Bible that would fit my troubled teen’s situation and apply it in prayer. My
friend practiced with me praying the verse aloud and inserting my child’s name
to personalize it.
Within days, I felt my prayers begin to soar
again. I no longer felt defeated, but
knew I was praying divine prayers.
Divine prayers that arose to the throne of God because of the promise,
“So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but
will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent
it.” Isaiah 55:11 (NIV). As a mother I
no longer held the ability to control everything in my children’s lives, but I
could pray with God’s power.
Thankfully, those
turbulent teen years eventually passed.
My children are now adults and I still pray for them using Bible verses,
because His Word is purposeful and achieves its purpose. God’s Word makes divine prayers.
Prayer:
Dear Lord, as I pray for my child remind me to pray
Your Word. Give me verses that will apply to my child and our situation.
Increase my faith in believing that Your Word will achieve the purpose for
which it is sent. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Application
steps:
Search
through your Bible concordance to find Scriptures that apply to your child and
your situation. Find them in your Bible
and highlight each one. Write them on
index cards. Begin to pray these verses
inserting your child’s name. For
example,
“For
God so loved the _your child’s name that
he gave his one and only Son.”, John 3:16 (NIV)
Reflections:
Have
I given up praying for my child?
Why
will praying Scripture increase my faith?
Do
I believe in the divine power of God’s Word?
Power
verses:
Psalms 119:89, “Your word, O LORD, is
eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.” (NIV)
Psalms 119:105, “Your word is a lamp to
my feet and a light for my path.” (NIV)
Psalms 119:140, “Your promises have been
thoroughly tested, and your servant loves them.”
(NIV)
(NIV)
©© 2009 by Susanne Scheppmann. All rights reserved.
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