A Prayer for Those Who Raise Children

Father, you have told us to start children on the way they should go. We feel the weight of that. We are tired, we are inconsistent, and we often set an example we would not want copied. Forgive us for the days we have taught our children impatience and hurry when we meant to teach them your love.

For every parent among us, give wisdom that is more than technique. Give them the fear of you, so that their homes are shaped by something bigger than the next crisis. Give them gentle answers at the end of long days. Give them the generosity that shares food and the humility that remembers rich and poor have one Maker.

For grandparents and older saints, let them know their instruction still matters, and let none of them be despised when they are old. For children heading back to school, guard their hearts. Let what was planted early hold.

And for those who long for children, or grieve them, or raise them alone, be near. You are the Maker of us all. Make our households places where the truth is bought and never sold. In Jesus' name. Amen.