(part 3 of 14 of the “Honor Dare“)
Dare: Pray for your parents with a sibling or friend
Verse: Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. (Matthew 18:19)
This is a rather simple day. And here’s the kicker – if you start with this dare each day for the rest of the “Dare” it’s bound to be “easier” for you. Somehow in our small Christian worldview, the practice of prayer is often to daunting, to boring, or to misunderstood. No matter how much we talk about it, hear about it and… well, pray about it… it often seems to always end up as our magic little bullet… the lifeline. I’m finding, albeit slowly, that everything I’ve been told for all of these years (as a kid before I was a Christian and for the last 12 years as a Christian) – really is true. Let me explain.
I’ve been a Christian for 12 years now and I’m finally starting to (by pure “will” sometimes) approaching my day in prayer. And God has honestly been showing me that He is there, He is listening and He is doing His work within and through me. Who knew! Specifically in relation to my family. As I’ve come before Him most mornings, I can tell you that I’ve seen a direct relation between what God is doing around me and what He’s directing me to be faithful in prayer about. Whether it’s been for Laura and the girls or for my extended family, I can actually see days later that things were moving in those areas. Not exactly as I had wanted every time, but moving non-the-less. It’s been a very exciting thing to be honest.
Which brings me to your parents and family. Prayer is the simplest and most powerful thing you can do for them. It may seem cliche to say it – but at some point you realize that if enough people say it, it’s probably true (like “kids grow up so fast…” – true!). Humbling yourself for five minutes of your day to simply ask that those around you would experience God’s love, would be open to Him throughout their day and that your relationship with them would be more loving and kind (Oooo, kind, that was yesterday’s challange!) isn’t a big chunk of your day.
Take five minutes right now… give it a try.