The Prayer Our Kids’ Need to Hear… Out of Afghanistan…
Faith Baptist of Zephyrhills
25 Aug 2021
Hi Church!
Children are listening. They hear the spoken and unspoken messages that are shared every day. And when it comes to passing on the Faith, no one has a greater influence than the family, and especially parents.
If you still have children living at home, they need to hear you pray. If you have grandchildren, they need to hear you pray. And it is about being real, not polished!
Here is a GREAT quote by Reggie Joyner: “No one has more potential to influence a child’s relationship with God than a parent…The most awkward attempt of a parent to pray with a son or daughter is a thousand times more powerful than the most seasoned believer who’s not their parent.” Wow. Read that again and let it HIT home.
It is true. I have heard hundreds, if not thousands of prayers in my life. I have prayed hundreds, if not thousands of prayers in my life. But there is one that I never forgot.
It was on a hot summer day, and my brother and I had invited all of our little league buddies over for a “big time” wiffle ball game. Among many outside activities when we had some time, we loved to play wiffle ball in our backyard. It was not a fancy field. It was a “home-made” field that consisted of bases of flat stones. First base was a stone strategically located by my mom’s flower garden. Second, third and home base were stones that just happened to be “somewhat” strategically located. We never got the measuring tape out! They were part of an old sidewalk from the original farm house that went to the old outhouse and well many, many years prior. But the best part was our above ground swimming pool that was dead centerfield away. And because the ground sloped, the rectangle pool had about 2-3 feet of shale rock on the ball field side. It was raised up making it a mini “green monster”aka, Boston! ! It was the “perfect” wiffle ball home run distance and reward! Hit in the pool and you had a HOMERUN! Call it home field advantage because I did that a lot!
But on that hot summer July day, I was playing in the outfield and standing on the raised ground near the pool when one of my buddies hit a shallow ball. I came running down off that raised ground “full tilt” with a determination to catch the ball while it was still in the air. Just as I reached out to catch the ball, I tripped. I came down awkwardly and directly on my left knee. The three layers of my skin literally popped open across my entire knee, about 3 inches wide. My pants ripped open and my knee looked like it had exploded. Fresh cut grass and dirt were in the open bleeding wound. It was scary to see and more painful than I can describe. My parents heard me scream. My mom was in the house and my dad was in the barn and they both came running.
One look and my dad turned and ran to our 15 passenger van and quickly backed it up to where I was laying. A couple of the guys helped pick me up and put me in the back of the van. It was a quick like ambulance being we lived 15 miles from the nearest hospital. It was a lot for my 11 year mind to process.
But I never forgot what happened next. My mom got in the back of the van with me and held my hand. She looked me in the eyes and she said “let’s pray”. Looking back, I am sure she was worried about the extent of my injury. Because my mom is an extremely quiet, reserved person when she prayed that day it changed everything. I do not remember the exact words she prayed, but I felt them. A sense of peace and even some small relief from my pain came over me when she prayed! I knew God was near and everything would be okay. And thankfully after a trip to the ER, a strong dose of iodine that literally nearly killed me, and dozens of layers of stitches and a temporary cast, my leg and knee survived.
Mom, Dad, Grandparent, your prayers matter. They matter at the table before you eat a meal. They matter at the bedside before they go to sleep. They matter when your child is stressed before a test. They matter before an unknown outcome. They matter before you drive out the driveway on a vacation. They matter ALL OF THE TIME. Pray with your kids and grandkids. Let them hear you talk to God. It is one of the most powerful ways to transfer your genuine faith to their soft hearts!
This Sunday is kind of like CHILDREN’S SUNDAY! We are going to look at what Jesus said about prioritizing kids, and we are going to hear some highlight experiences from some of our children who went to Word of Life summer camp! You DO NOT WANT TO MISS IT!
Thank you for praying for our friends who were in Afghanistan. They did make it out of the country successfully and are now in France!
Please keep praying for the other thousands still waiting to be evalculated and for the Afghans who will be remaining under Taliban rule.
Also, please pray for those listed on our attached prayer bulletin.
Praying for You,
Pastor Mike
Wednesday Prayer Bulletin, 08-25-21