Praying For Your Kids Monday
"Don't Sass Me";
Praying for self-control over how our kids speak
The last fruit of the Spirit we were praying for our children was self-control. Ah, good ol' self-control (she says with a handful of M&M's in her mouth)... One little fruit with so much jammed packed into it. Hence, we're going to spend the next few weeks praying for specific areas in which our children need self-control. This week: you guessed it, in the way they speak.
Our words have the power to bless or curse and the earlier our children learn this the better off they will be (read more about our words blessing or cursing here). The Bible has a lot to say about taming our tongues/speaking kindly/speaking wisely but perhaps none so popularly quoted as James. James is so aware of tongue's power that he devotes several passages warning of its strong influence. I am particularly moved by this passage, "but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be" (James 3:8-9).
Perhaps this passage strikes me because I am guilty of this every day; praising God one minute and saying something negative about someone in the very next breath. What kind of example am I setting for my kids? Not a very good one. 1) I am disobeying God. 2 ) I am modeling gossip or negative talk. 3) I am acting hypocritical. I have to admit, the more I have thought about this post in the last couple of days I see that I can't pray this for my kids without praying it for myself as well. Maybe this is an area you have a lot of self-control in and if it is I admire you, however, I think a lot of us probably struggle in this area and so this week's prayer will be for us and for our kids.
Lord, I long to be a godly example to my kids; I want them to see me using my words to bless others and glorify You so will You please help me to be sensitive this week to the words I use in speaking to and about others. I pray for ________ this week to begin to understand the power his words have. I pray you'll give us opportunities this week to talk about taming our tongues and blessing others with our words. Thanks for never giving up on us. Amen.
Listen to Brian Condello's sermon "Say What?" here.
Read 20 Resolutions on Taming the Tongue here.
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