A Grandparent’s Challenge
I received the special gift of grandparenting as I approached my midlife season. It was exciting to become a grandparent! However, I learned that along with this gift came a sacred trust to imprint another generation with the message of God’s faithfulness. Reflecting on my new responsibility, I realized my prayers were too general and vague and I became frustrated with how I was praying for my grandchildren.
After I asked God for wisdom and read several books about prayer, my praying changed dramatically. I discovered God’s Word was a great resourceto help me with my praying, not only for my family, but also for myself.
In Hebrews 4:12 we read, “The Word of God is full of living power”. When I pray according to God’s Word, I am in line with His will, enabling me to pray with direction, power, and wisdom. I not only find myself in intimate communication with God, but my mind is renewed to think His thoughts about the situation for which I am praying, instead of my own thoughts.Ultimately, God shrinks the situation that I thought was overwhelming and impossible into a viable possibility. He gives me peace as I wait for His answer.
As I started claiming God’s promises and personalizing the scriptures, I experienced more boldness and confidence in my praying. Nothing threatens the enemy (Satan) more than when we are intentionally praying God’s Wordfor our children, grandchildren, and ourselves. Many scriptures in Psalms, Proverbs, the Gospels, and Paul’s writings can be used in our prayers.
While surfing on the Internet looking for help in my praying, God directed me to the Christian Grandparenting Network. After sharing my passion with them, they invited me to become their National Prayer Coordinator, writing devotionals and prayer suggestions on their website.
Christian Grandparenting Network (CGN) is devoted to challenging Christian grandparents to live intentionally as representatives of Christ for future generations. It is committed to providing a network of resources and opportunities for grandparents to have powerful opportunities for inter-generational dialogue to strengthen grandparent-grandchild relationships and spiritual growth.
We live in a time when the darkness of sin and unrighteousness ravages our land seeking to capture the minds and hearts of our youth and young families. The enemy is determined to steal their faith and the plans God has for them.The enemy’s attacks against our families and our nation’s moral foundations are relentless. It is urgent that grandparents stand in the gap praying for the spiritual, emotional, and physical protection of these who are under attack and CGN can help you.
Resources available from Christian Grandparenting Network
- Scriptures to Pray for Your Grandchildren
- More Scriptures to Pray for Your Grandchildren
- Scriptures to Pray for Children
- Suggestions to Pray for Your Grandchildren in School: Preschool, Elementary, Teenagers, and College Students by Lillian Penner.
- Scriptures and Suggestions to Pray for Teenagers
- Suggestions for Grandparent to Pray for themselves
- Book:Grandparenting with a Purpose: Effective Ways to Pray for your Grandchildren by Lillian Penner, National Pray Coordinator for Christian Grandparenting Network. The book challenges grandparents to stand in the gap for their grandchildren by living a godly example and being their prayer warrior.It provides creative suggestions for prayers based on Scriptures, and other helpful tools, utilizing everything from cell phone to photo prayer journals. This book is
- Book:Courageous Grandparentingby Cavin T. Harper, Executive Director of Christian Grandparenting Network is a call for grandparents and parents to rise above the conventional view of grandparentingto embrace radically courageous life that stands apart from the politically correct crowd. It’s a call to intentionality—not settling for simply being good parents and grandparents, but choosing to stand in the gap and live as conduits of grace and truth for the next generations. Cavin Harper appeals to the emerging masses of Boomer grandparents to create a movement of godly men and women resolved to not let another generation grow up on our watch that does not know the Lord or His amazing grace. There’s too much at stake if we don’t.
- CGN has proclaimed the second Sunday in September as Grandparents Day of Prayer,coinciding with National Grandparents Day designated by a Senate proclamation in 1978. It is a way of engaging grandparents to unite in an intentional day of prayer for their grandchildren. Many participants reported how they were blessed as they united in prayer with other grandparents in a common cause. The next Grandparents Day of Prayer will be Sunday, September 8, 2019.
- Small groups called Grandparents@Prayer (G@P) assist grandparents in praying for their grandchildren. Just as Esther stood in the gap for her people, the Jews, when they were threatened, likewise grandparents can stand in the gap with prayer for their grandchildren today. G@P groups are meeting in many areas of the United States and England praying together for their grandchildren on a regular basis.
- CGN provides many other resources for grandparents such as weekly blogs, GrandCampsfor grandparents and grandchildren, and Courageous Grandparenting conferences.
- Learn more on our website at http://www.grandparentingwithapurpose.comor contact me at lpenner@christiangrandparenting more information about Grandparents Day of Prayer orGrandparents @ Prayer.
Lillian Penner, Co-Prayer Director for Christian Grandparenting Network
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