Prayer Take 4/40

Our church praying for 40 days for our Take It to the Streets Ministry.  Each day will have a scripture reading, a list things to pray for and I will write a quick devotional thought from the day’s passage.  The schedule is not original with us but is built off of YouVersion’s Bible App.

– Exodus 20:12

This is often a verse, as it should be, to instruct children and adults a like on how to treat their parents.  But in life there are those that do not honor the good parents that deserve it or the ones that don’t.

Many families are broken.  Some because of divorce others because of tension in the home. When mom and dad fight, children are forced to take sides, a choice they should never have to make but because adults can’t find a way to be “adults” they leave their children with the difficult task of choosing sides.

There are dead beat moms who only care about themselves and what they want and there are dead beat dads who only care about themselves and what they want.  Drinking, porn, adultery, arguments over nothing, miss-treatment of children, anger and pouting all contribute to the problem. Throw in the side of “Daddy’s never at home” or “Mommy never takes time with me”, makes children think that everyone and everything else is more important than them.

So… Honoring your parents in unhealthy situations is frankly non-existent. And who could blame them?  I don’t want to honor anyone who hurts me over and over again.

But here in this passage is a command, one that is still in play today, to honor our parents regardless of whether they are good or bad.

It’s treat them with respect even if you do not agree with how they live or what they do.

Only a relationship with Jesus can heal these hurts and provide the strength needed to make this happen.

So today, as you walk by or drive by your neighbors homes, remember there are people struggling in their marriages and with their families.  Our prayer is that they would to allow Jesus to transform their lives into something better…

and for many it will start with beginning a relationship with Him.

– Pray for all the children on your street to honor their parents whether they are adults or children. Especially for children growing up with a Mother or Father living elsewhere, help them honor both their parents, any step parents and for the mending of relationships in their family.

– Pray for our church that we would be able to reach these families with the Gospel.  That we would see Jesus work miracles in the lives of families in our community… saving them and healing their hurts to the point where honoring becomes easy for them.

– Pray that no child would suffer from abuse and for healing for adults and children that have been the victims of child abuse at the hands of their parents. Help them not feel condemned for their difficulties in dealing with how they feel about their parents. Ask that they would become willing to let Jesus step in and redeem their lives.

– Pray that our church would be effective in reaching families.

– Pray that our church would effectively model Honoring parents.

– Pray for Take 5.2 – as we prepare to give the gospel to our community this Christmas Season

– Pray for Take 13 – our Traveling Trunk or Treat that we will be able to make positive contacts in our community and see people not only come to our church as a result of that connection but also see many come to know Jesus as their Savior.