How NOT to Pray For Your Kids

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Oh, it's great to be back with James for another episode of encouraging prayer so Mother's Day is coming up James and you said you especially want to talk about. You know how moms may not want to pray for their kids this place, so shall I take it from here to welcome back Robbie, your time away. It really was spectacular. God showed up in her mind he went to boot camp that we didn't know. Actually, the campers came and prayed over slow team which suggested that were happening clearly God was doing something. It was beautiful under the topic of how not to pray for your kids is a great example of this in the New Testament and actually you find it if you look at it in the flipside is it will help you learn how to pray for your kids so you find this in Matthew 20 where Salomé the mother of James and John comes to Jesus and ask for a favor if you remember that story to go to all fours. Right right yes, James and John will sit on Jesus left and right in the kingdom of God. You know he he turns to her and says you don't know what you're asking and you know these are both positions of power that she's asking for really and he turns to James and John, and he talks to them about it.

Now that's interesting as this seems pretty obvious. Jesus is talking to them and not to her because you know they put her up to it exactly right in and you see that because Matthew tells us a little later that when the other disciples found out about it. They were putting that word he uses his indignant set, so what's the take away here for praying mom I think there are few of them. But the most obvious one is be careful of what your kids put you up to including where God I remember some conversation school principal that didn't turn out the way I plan like I had all the facts we've all been there so so what does this look like when you're praying for your kids will first. It looks like she's asking for something really great crickets right.

I mean who wouldn't want their kids to be right there with Jesus when the kingdom comes with the prayer is really full of ambition, which is why the other tender. Think about it this way if Salome had a chariot bumper sticker on it would say something like my son start as well.

No other mom could sling that except Peter and Andrew and Jesus only had nicknames for one of them. At least we know of, but Salomé's sons were the sons of thunder. This is the ultimate power play for them.

So the first way not to pray for our kids is don't pray out of personal ambition. Please let him go to Harvard Lord you know if that's where the Lord lead you great but Jesus says, what does it profit you to gain the whole world and lose your soul are our motivation really has to go deeper does. He talked about that before one talks about praying for phone calls.

Success in the eyes of the world can make you a particle pretty quickly.

If you're not careful exactly. And that's the second take away here. Who was Salomé listening to what she made this request. Well, it's pretty clear. Her son, the same one who wanted to rain down fire on the village related mixup Jesus, which is probably how they got the nickname the sun under imagine how differently the conversation could've gone. If you want to Jesus and said, Lord, how can my son serve you, what would you like them to do for you in your kingdom. So you're saying it would've been good if she got a request from Jesus asked him what was best for her. Sounds absolutely and that's hard for us sometimes his parents because we naturally think we know what's best for our kids but God loves them. Jesus loves them even more than we do. If we pray in step with him, asking him to show us what to want when we pray when we can't go wrong so cool so so far takeaways are pray for your kids with personal ambition and don't pray for them about asking God what he wants. What else there is one more push back at the little darling… What if Salome had done that what she had said asking that you can asking that if you want to, but I'm not going to. Sometimes it's easy for us to want what our kids want when they're really after something in and that's where we need to ask God for wisdom, but she doesn't. We need to help our kids learn how to put his kingdom first is that what they're asking for you know is is it in keeping with that. What he really wants for them.

If we help them discover how to look for that then will really have a chance at joyful and fulfilling lives.

It's good stuff, James and I worked for dad's as well is a loss like take a moment to put a shameless plug in for some of James's books right if you haven't read prayers for your children or personal protocols are praying the prayers of the Bible for kids, you will certainly want to check those out. Robbie, would you wrap this up with a prayer for mom's just thanking God for them in.

You know, asking him to help them as they pray for their kids left to talk. Jesus, thank you for that desire that you give an estimate hearts burning for our families and our children. Lord we need your wisdom.

We need your help to even know what we pray for wisdom. We pray for understanding. We pray for ways to relate in difficult situations that you would send wisdom our way. Even if it comes from a brother or sister is trying to help Jesus name I pray, amen and amen that last part of the hard part right if it comes from further Lord maybe we'll hear more from Pastor James by visiting the website James Banks.org or by visiting these church in Durham, North Carolina. May God bless you and encourage you to pray. This is the Truth Network