A Parent’s Prayer
In St. Augustine’s Prayer Book, we find a lovely prayer entitled: A Parent’s Prayer: O Gracious God, I commend my children to you; let them know you to be their God and protector, their creator and savior, the rock of their life and the goal toward which they move. Pour your grace into their hearts, and confirm and multiply in them the gifts of the Holy Spirit, that they may abound daily in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus; may they find joy and wonder in all your works, and grow in faith, hope, and love toward you and all people. Of your infinite goodness, provide whatever they lack from my frailty or negligence. As you have called me to this great work, awaken in me the patience, the wisdom, and the love necessary to complete it, that your presence may be the joy of our home and our eternal hope. Amen.
From the first time we hold our children, I think we as parents are struck by the enormity of the task of raising a tiny human to know and love God, to love their neighbors, and to be salt and light in this broken and decaying world.
As time goes on, our humanity as parents overwhelms us. Raising children magnifies our own brokenness and imperfectness in following Jesus. We desire to teach our children to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” (Deuteronomy 6:5) We want our children to be good neighbors, to fight for the marginalized. We want them to
be well educated, to be prepared for jobs and providing for themselves. We want them to be healthy – especially during this season of COVID-19. We want them to be safe.
As we begin to list all the things we want for our children, it is easy to become overwhelmed by the enormity of this work. Is it possible to raise children who fit all of these criteria? As Christie Purifoy says in Placemaker: Cultivating Places of Comfort, Beauty, and Peace, “I could fence my children in with a hundred thousand rules. Then they would be safe. Then they would be contained. Then they would no longer have the opportunity to break my heart.”
I want my children to follow Jesus most of all. At least, in theory. I’m afraid that sometimes, theory takes a back seat to practicality. We are in a rush at meals and forget to say a prayer. Bedtime is late again and, in the rush to get everyone tucked in, I forget to pray a blessing over their sweet, sleepy heads. We were supposed to start our day with Scripture, but somewhere, in the middle of breakfast, baby and a dog, I got side-tracked. I lose my temper when I have to clean up yet another mess or solve another sibling squabble. How can I possibly raise children to know, follow and love Jesus when I am doing those things so poorly myself?
That’s why I love the quote from the prayer above: “Of your infinite goodness, provide whatever they lack from my frailty or negligence. As you have called me to this great work, awaken in me the patience, the wisdom, and the love necessary to complete it.” Apparently, I’m not the only parent who has felt inadequate for the task at hand. The author of this prayer acknowledges their own weakness and calls on the Father to graciously fill those voids.
Paul told the Christians at Philippi, “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6) I hold on to that promise. Jesus is still working in my life, growing me as a parent of children, as a disciple-maker. I stumble through some of
these days, but I hold on to the hope that I have in Jesus, and I pray, along with the author of this prayer found in St Augustine’s prayer book, that God will provide for my children “whatever they lack” and that He will give me “the patience, the wisdom, and the love” that I need to point these little ones to Him.
And so, sweet momma, let’s keep on loving our kids and showing them Jesus. On days when we fail miserably, let’s get back up, ask forgiveness and hold on to the Father. He gave you these kids, He knows this season, and He promises to “gently lead those that are with young.” (Isaiah 40:11).
