Tuesday, October 21, 2014

In our last visit I encouraged parents to pray for their children, especially if they rebel or resist the truth. I became a Christian at the age of 9. Not being followed up meaningfully I began to drift into a life of compromise. As an athlete at school I associated with the wrong crowd and experienced what Paul warned against in 1 Corinthians 15:33, “Bad company corrupts good character.” That’s why I constantly encourage parents to pray that God would bring good friends into the lives of their children. I still pray that for my married children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Good friends make responsible parenting a lot easier. They become your allies. If your child, as I did, associates with bad company or just chooses to rebel against God, don’t give up on praying for them. My mother was tempted to do this when I was moving further and further away from the truth as a senior in High School. One night she came to the breaking point and told God, “If this is what I get after praying all these years for my son, I give up.” Later she shared with me that in her despair she got the impression that God said to her, “Your job is to pray. My job is to answer prayer. Don’t worry about my part. Be faithful in your part.” With that, she continued to pray for me through her tears. Less than a month later I came back to God and shortly thereafter started growing in my relationship with God. I’m so glad she kept on asking until she received. Only God knows the number of lives that have been touched for eternity because of her prayers for me.