Susanne Scheppmann
"So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." Isaiah 55:11 (NIV)
I lifted myself from my knees and wiped the tears of frustration from my eyes. Once again, I felt like my prayers had bounced off the ceiling and rolled into a dusty corner, unheard by God.
Since my children were babies, I have prayed for them. The prayers continued through their elementary school years. All during those years, I felt peace and confidence flow throughout my soul—God would be with my children. Of course, I "helped" Him with my wise mothering and daily prayers.
However, adolescence struck my family. Three teenagers infiltrated the serenity of motherhood. Suddenly, my children didn't listen to my wisdom. I couldn't protect them from outside influences any longer. All I could do was watch them spread their wings of independence and fly out of the cocoon of our home. Their eyes rolled at my advice. Their mouths wagged words at me. Their faith fluctuated.
I responded with fear and a feeling of failure that haunted my prayers. My words were cumbersome. My own faith faltered as I watched each of my children struggle with different issues in their lives. I asked myself, "What can I say to God to make a difference during these tumultuous years?" Discouragement dogged my prayer life.
However, God didn't want me to give up. He brought a friend who had been through a similar experience in her prayer life and had learned to pray Scripture for her children. She taught me how to choose a verse from the Bible that would fit my troubled teen's situation and apply it in prayer. My friend practiced with me praying the verse aloud and inserting my child's name to personalize it.
Within days, I felt my prayers begin to soar again. I no longer felt defeated, but knew I was praying divine prayers. Divine prayers that arose to the throne of God because of the promise, "So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it" (Isaiah 55:11, NIV). As a mother, I no longer held the ability to control everything in my children's lives, but I could pray with God's power.
Thankfully, those turbulent teen years eventually passed. My children are now adults and I still pray for them using Bible verses, because His Word is purposeful and achieves its purpose. God's Word makes divine prayers.
Dear Lord, as I pray for my child, remind me to pray Your Word. Give me verses that will apply to my child and our situation. Increase my faith in believing that Your Word will achieve the purpose for which it is sent. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Related Resources:
Divine Prayers for Despairing Parents: Words to Pray When You Don't Know What to Say by Susanne Scheppmann
For Parents Only: Getting inside the Head of Your Kid by Shaunti Feldhahn and Lisa A. Rice
Join us for more Everyday Life encouragement
Visit Susanne’s blog for more encouragement!
Application Steps:
Search through your Bible concordance to find Scriptures that apply to your child and your situation. Find them in your Bible and highlight each one. Write them on index cards. Begin to pray these verses inserting your child's name. For example, "For God so loved your child's name that he gave his one and only Son" (John 3:16, NIV).
Reflections:
Have I given up praying for my child?
Why will praying Scripture increase my faith?
Do I believe in the divine power of God's Word?
Power Verses:
Psalms 119:89, "Your word, O LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens." (NIV)
Psalms 119:105, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." (NIV)
Psalms 119:140, "Your promises have been thoroughly tested, and your servant loves them." (NIV)
© 2009 by Susanne Scheppmann. All rights reserved.
"So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." Isaiah 55:11 (NIV)
I lifted myself from my knees and wiped the tears of frustration from my eyes. Once again, I felt like my prayers had bounced off the ceiling and rolled into a dusty corner, unheard by God.
Since my children were babies, I have prayed for them. The prayers continued through their elementary school years. All during those years, I felt peace and confidence flow throughout my soul—God would be with my children. Of course, I "helped" Him with my wise mothering and daily prayers.
However, adolescence struck my family. Three teenagers infiltrated the serenity of motherhood. Suddenly, my children didn't listen to my wisdom. I couldn't protect them from outside influences any longer. All I could do was watch them spread their wings of independence and fly out of the cocoon of our home. Their eyes rolled at my advice. Their mouths wagged words at me. Their faith fluctuated.
I responded with fear and a feeling of failure that haunted my prayers. My words were cumbersome. My own faith faltered as I watched each of my children struggle with different issues in their lives. I asked myself, "What can I say to God to make a difference during these tumultuous years?" Discouragement dogged my prayer life.
However, God didn't want me to give up. He brought a friend who had been through a similar experience in her prayer life and had learned to pray Scripture for her children. She taught me how to choose a verse from the Bible that would fit my troubled teen's situation and apply it in prayer. My friend practiced with me praying the verse aloud and inserting my child's name to personalize it.
Within days, I felt my prayers begin to soar again. I no longer felt defeated, but knew I was praying divine prayers. Divine prayers that arose to the throne of God because of the promise, "So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it" (Isaiah 55:11, NIV). As a mother, I no longer held the ability to control everything in my children's lives, but I could pray with God's power.
Thankfully, those turbulent teen years eventually passed. My children are now adults and I still pray for them using Bible verses, because His Word is purposeful and achieves its purpose. God's Word makes divine prayers.
Dear Lord, as I pray for my child, remind me to pray Your Word. Give me verses that will apply to my child and our situation. Increase my faith in believing that Your Word will achieve the purpose for which it is sent. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Related Resources:
Divine Prayers for Despairing Parents: Words to Pray When You Don't Know What to Say by Susanne Scheppmann
For Parents Only: Getting inside the Head of Your Kid by Shaunti Feldhahn and Lisa A. Rice
Join us for more Everyday Life encouragement
Visit Susanne’s blog for more encouragement!
Application Steps:
Search through your Bible concordance to find Scriptures that apply to your child and your situation. Find them in your Bible and highlight each one. Write them on index cards. Begin to pray these verses inserting your child's name. For example, "For God so loved your child's name that he gave his one and only Son" (John 3:16, NIV).
Reflections:
Have I given up praying for my child?
Why will praying Scripture increase my faith?
Do I believe in the divine power of God's Word?
Power Verses:
Psalms 119:89, "Your word, O LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens." (NIV)
Psalms 119:105, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." (NIV)
Psalms 119:140, "Your promises have been thoroughly tested, and your servant loves them." (NIV)
© 2009 by Susanne Scheppmann. All rights reserved.
Labels: Overcoming Fear, Parenting, Perseverance, Prayer, Relationships, Spiritual Growth, Time with God, Trusting God, Waiting On God, Walking in Faith
10 Comments:
I felt as though my prayer were in the corner this morning too. I so desperatly want to feel and hear god but it seems as though i don't even know how to pray properly and my words are never right. i do like your idea of scripture prayer but i'm not up on my bible verses Anyway thanks for your devotion it does help.
We have been up all night. My son and his friend are in their 20's. They are addicts to drugs. Prayer is not foreign to me at all, but at times I feel the unconnected feeling you described. Satan loves his work, doesn't he? A young college girl from our church called me last night, she asked me to come to my son, Ty's house. I didn't even know that she knew my son. She said she was driving by and felt an overwhelming urge to stop at his house. He has always admired her from afar, and asked me to "fix him up", but I told him he was in no shape to be with anyone. He lost his wife,then his girlfriend, due to drugs. His best friend was killed in an auto accident only a month ago. Then he lost his job 2 wks. ago.
Jessica had given her testimony in church Sun. night, and expressed her desires to do something for God. She did not know how He would use her, or how soon!
When I went over to his house a close friend, her married daughter, Jessica & I did an "intervention" . He turned over all his "stuff". He and his friend came clean about all the stuff they had been doing, besides what I already knew about. We prayed, we talked, they argued, then would agree. He could not believe that this young girl had even stopped at his house, and he could not figure out why. He said he knew that all of it had to be from God, but he still could'nt figure it out. It took all four of us "girls" to keep the two of them in conversation about their need for God, their need for detox and rehab. We made them set a goal for today. We destroyed every-thing they gave us, and that we found. Jessica called my daughter and she came over with my grandchildren at 10:15 last night. My 9 year old grand-daughter prays for her Uncle Ty every Sun. in SS. God has been listening! It just had to be in His time. We were up until 4:30, Ty finally talked himself to sleep, Donnie never did go to sleep. They have both been up for 3 days. Thier goal-to go to detox, I am calling in 40 min. to see when they can get in. We will take it a minute at a time until then. Can you believe it?...Jessica took them with her to her apt. to stay today, while she goes to class, cause she knows they have no money, and there are no drugs there. We are going to keep someone with them until they go to detox.
I have often told Ty, "You are wearing my knees out, honey.", but those prayers are being answered as I speak. Oh me, "of so little faith!"
The road ahead will not be easy, I have been involved with this kind of thing before, but I also know God is all powerful! Will you help me pray...everyone who reads this? Thank You Lord!!!
Powerful devotion, and powerful story here from Kathy! We will pray for you...with God's strength you are doing this.
It is hard to see what is going on, but God is always working "behind the scenes". I sometimes get frustrated whenever I can't see what He is doing. He always assures me that he has heard my prayers, but it is sooo hard to wait on his timing. I love that God knows of the needs before we even ask and that he is always working ahead of us, but it is hard to have faith when you don't see things happening. Thank you Kathy for your encouraging story. It's amazing how God uses people in our lives to step in and help in an incredible way!
I TOO,HAVE A SON SETH ....
SUFFERING FROM ADDICTIONS ...AND BY TAKING PHILOSOPHIES FROM COLLEGE HE BECAME EVEN MORE LOST...
A FEW YEARS IN EUROPE REALLY DIDN'T HELP HIM EITHER
MY WORDS ARE NEVER RIGHT EITHER BUT I BELIEVE GOD IS LOOKING AT MY HEART AND IT IS SINCERE ...AND SINCE WE HAVE A INTERCESSOR ...I BELIEVE MY PRAYERS ARE BEING ANSWERED ..BUT IN HIS TIME AND IN HIS WAY
WE CAN NEVER HAVE ENOUGH PRAYER COVERAGE ..IT IS SCRIPTURAL TO PRAY FOR FOR ONE ANOTHER PLEASE PRAY NOT ONLY ONLY FOR SETH BUT THAT GOD WILL PROVIDE PATIENCE FOR ME AND INCREASE MY FAITH DAILY ...WISHING US ALL BLESSINGS & ANSWERED PRAYERS
wow - a powerful devotion on prayer! and it seems to be right on time from the comments I have read... I will pray also in agreement with you all. God surely does answer prayer, even for small things like finding a set of keys so you can make it to work on time. A couple of years ago, 2yrs, 1month to be exact, my husband went to live with the Lord due to an addiction to prescription medicines, which he had because of an injury that involved chronic pain. Even with the medication, he never had any relief from his pain. I miss him terribly still to this day, you see our marriage was still young and growing. we would have had our 10th anniversary just 3months after his passing, but I know that he is no longer in pain and that he is surrounded by loved ones that had gone before him and three babies that I have yet to meet but very much wanted. I have one little girl here to love and cherish my time with as He blesses us each day anew. Never give up, God's timing is perfect and He will always be right where you need Him.
seth's father died of a drug overdose also 4 yrs ago it was heartbreaking ...we were married 23 yrs ...before we divorced i had 5 children with him ...he just didn't make it ...he ended up homeless down in california before he died
think ???
that may be one reason i am so afraid of losing seth
Thanks for this devotional. I praise God for His Word and I am learning to pray it. I appreciate this encouragement.
A quick follow up. My son is in detox. In 2 days he has gained 14 lbs. I couldn't believe the difference in him today. Two young preachers, (one who used to run with Ty, but turned his life over to God) came to visit. I was amazed at the reception Ty gave them, and the way he is talking about his God! God is answering prayers by the handfuls. I took my Bible and together we looked thru it at the verses that I had underlined and dated with his name next to it. He actually read them, something he would never have done last week! God is certainly there, He loves Seth better than you can. That was a thought that always kept me going. Thank you for all the prayers, I can see the results. Keep it up. I will pray with you.
I was reviewing some of my old emails and this particular article really struck a chord with me. God's timing is perfect!
Our son no longer listens to us or does what we ask and my heart is broken.
I have prayed for me since he was a baby and have often used Bible Verses in my prayers. One of my favorites to use is Acts 26:18, which are Jesus' very words to Paul, but is so applicable today: "to open their eyes, [in order] to turn [them] from darkness to light, and [from] the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.'
Even so, I get discouraged. Recently I was reminded that God IS FAITHFUL and that The LORD will perfect (finish) that which concerneth me (or my son): thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own words. I am reminded that God knows and loves my son far more than I could and that He is in control and that HE IS FAITHFUL TO HIS WORD.
That is when faith becomes important. Believing God when it looks like God isn't even there. Hang in there sisters, and I will too!
Post a Comment
Home