Growing Through Prayer – The Kid Behind the Costume
Lord, in this season of candy, pumpkins, and costumes, kids make a game of pretending to be somebody else. Our little superheroes and princesses have fun feeling powerful and pretty for just one day. Yet when the treats are gone and the costume is set aside, the longing for a new identity remains.
Lord, bring comfort to my children who wear a cheerful mask to hide the hurts inside. Turn their “mourning into dancing” and “clothe them in gladness” as they experience your help and healing. (Psalm 30:11) You can light up their faces with joy as your pour out your love in their lives.
My son acts tough and invincible while struggling with fear and insecurity. He’s worried he doesn’t have what it takes, and he works so hard for love and approval. Give him true strength and courage that comes from knowing you’re with him all the time. (Joshua 1:9) Help him take hold of your promise to reveal your perfect power in his childlike weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9) Let his confidence come from your power that’s always enough for whatever he might face.
The world sells a lie that image and beauty prove my daughter’s worth. She feels ugly and awkward, unseen and unwanted. Crush that destructive message with your truth—”man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7) Help her to truly believe she’s “fearfully and wonderfully made” as your handiwork, made in God’s image. (Psalm 139:14) Dress her up in the beauty of a quiet and gentle spirit that’s of great worth in your sight. (1 Peter 3:4)
Thank you for your compassion for my children. You invite them to take off their masks and makeup and come to you just as they are. In you they discover their true identities as sons and daughters of God. Give them your peace as you grow their faith in Jesus, whose love never fails. Amen.
See what great love the Father has lavished on us,
that we should be called children of God!
And that is what we are!
(1 John 3:1)
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
(Psalm 139:14-17)
This spoke to me as I was thinking of my son reading this. He is six years old and has a big heart for God. My prayers are that he continues to grow in that and be a blessing to others each and everyday.
We’ll join you in praying for your sweet son. Blessings to you and your family!
I like how you put this together. Makes me think of ways of praying more for my lad as he’s maturing into a young man.
Beautiful. <3 I breathed the prayers on behalf of three Woods kids and others. I love how you two help us plant seeds in our parenting.
Thank you, Kristi! Praying with you for our one-of-a-kind kids!