Joy is different than happiness.
"We don't care what *Seth* does when he grows up, " she said, "we just want him to be happy." And I cringed as she said it, this Christian woman I've known all my life. Because deep down inside I believe that there's more than happiness in life to aspire to. Sure, I wish happiness for my sons. But if I had to choose between them being happy for a season & living in sin, or being miserable for a season & loving Jesus with all their hearts...well, I'd choose the latter.
Happiness is not necessarily holiness.
Men who cheat on their wives, neglect their children and look at porn each night before bed can be perfectly happy with their lifestyle. No, happiness is fleeting. But joy comes from a right relationship with Christ. This week let's pray for the joy of the Lord to root itself deeply into our precious sons' hearts. And while we're at it, let's ask the Lord to make us relish the joy of our salvation as well.
Monday: May the joy of the Lord be our sons' strength (Nehemiah 8:10)
Tuesday: May our sons be filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22)
Wednesday: May our sons go out in joy and be led forth in peace (Isaiah 55:12)
Thursday: May the God of hope fill our sons with all joy and peace as they trust in him, so that they may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13)
Friday: May our sons go to the altar of God, to God, their joy and their delight (Psalm 43:4)
Saturday: May our sons count it all joy when they meet trials of various kinds, as the testing of their faith produces steadfastness. May they let steadfastness have its full effect, that they may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing (James 1:1-4)
Sunday: May our sons know that while weeping may tarry for the night, joy comes with the morning (Psalm 30:5)
*Seth is not his real name
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Because of your help last week I've decided that I will no longer be offering Warrior Prayers in a weekly Twitter chat format. Your answers are clear that daily Facebook and Twitter prayers and the weekly calendar from this blog are the hands-down favorites and I'm thrilled to be able to focus in on serving you in these ways.
You can continue to join the weekday conversation on Facebook, subscribe to this blog for weekly prayer calendars by email or in a reader, or watch for the weekday #WarriorPrayers tweets on Twitter. Thank you so much for being a part of what God is doing in the hearts of our sons.
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In case you missed it, Sarah Mae from Like a Warm Cup of Coffee, allowed me to share my heart with her readers yesterday and talk a little about why I REALLY feel compelled to pray the Word over my sons. If you haven't read it, please head on over and share your thoughts.
Brooke
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dear young prayer warrior,
ReplyDeletei love the way you think, pray, and lead your boys.
you will never regret this praying of His word over
them.
blessings,
lea
Thank you so much friend. I'm counting on the Lord to fulfill them.
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