We believe, strongly, in the power of prayer over our children. We pray for their health. We pray for their character and their walk with Christ. We pray for their future spouses, their future children, and their future careers. We believe that our prayers are part of their legacy.
Prayers for Your Children: 90 Days of Heartfelt Prayers for Children of Any Age
When we were pregnant with Mister, we knew that there was a chance that he’d be born with Hay Wells Syndrome. One of the most prevalent characteristics of Hay Wells Syndrome is a cleft lip and palate. I was born with a submucous cleft palate, which is a cleft that is covered over by the lining (mucous membrane) of the roof of the mouth. We prayed daily that he would not be affected by Hay Wells Syndrome, but that if he was, that he’d be born without any facial or oral anomalies. When I was about seven months pregnant, I had a dream that confirmed in my heart that he would be affected by the skin disorder. We went to a leadership meeting that night, and I asked for prayer (again) for his mouth. A dear missionary friend asked if he could lay hands on my stomach and pray, I said yes. He prayed specifically that God would supernaturally knit the lip and palate together as they were designed to be. After he prayed, I knew that Mister’s mouth would be fine. I no longer even felt the need to bring it to God in prayer, because it was a done deal.
When Mister was born, he was affected by Hay Wells Syndrome. His lip was normal.
When he screamed, which was often since he had colic, his palate appeared to be intact. The ENT said he’d have to have routine palate checks until around the age of two, as a submucous cleft could be “hidden”. Mine wasn’t discovered until I was in Kindergarten.
Then when he was ten months old, he had to have surgery to have bilatateral nasolacrimal stints, bilateral ear tubes, and a right inguinal hernia repair. The ENT said he’d be able to do a final palate check in surgery, as it’d be much easier to inspect the palate under anesthesia.
When the ENT came out to the surgery waiting area after surgery, he said, “It’s the strangest thing. His palate seems to have knit together at the last minute. It looks like he was going to have a cleft, but for whatever reason, it closed. He has a tiny notch at the back of the palate bone, that would have been a submucous cleft, but it’s not. I’ve never seen anything like it”
My heart quickened in that moment, and I knew that his palate was knit together in the seventh month of my pregnancy when my friend layed hands on me and prayed that the lip and palate would be supernaturally knit together.
As you can imagine, we believe, strongly, in the power of prayer over our children. I could tell you many more stories that have shown the power of prayer over our children.
We recently had the opportunity to review Prayers for Your Children: 90 Days of Heartfelt Prayers for Children of Any Age. As much as we already pray for our children, I was excited to be able to review this book. There are times when we feel like we’ve prayed all there is to pray. In moments like these, having Prayers for Your Children on my nightstand is a great way to reinvigorate our prayers for our children.
Many parents have witnessed the power of faithful prayer over their child’s life, praying for health and healing from heartbreaks and for spiritual awakening and future direction, and inside Prayers for Your Children, pastor and author James Banks offers ninety accessible, Scripture-based prayers that you can pray for your own kids during every season of their lives.
Filled with heartfelt wisdom and truth, these ready-to-use prayers cover specific needs, including knowing Christ as Savior, loving the Lord and others, experiencing God’s protection, and walking in purity. Witness the power of prayer as you glean through the pages of this book and talk with God on behalf of your child.
In this 90 day prayer guide, an entire week is spent on the 23rd Psalm, which I absolutely love. The daily prayers list Scripture to pray for your children, and there’s nothing quite as powerful as praying Scripture. The prayers alternate boy/girl, but can easily be adapted to your kids. I especially appreciated Day 9: Roots and Wings. In it, the author writes,
“I’ve heard it said that a child needs ‘roots’ and ‘wings,’ Lord. Roots to understand where he comes from, and wings to lift him where he needs to go.
Today I ask for both…”
He goes on to include verses that describe our roots in faith, as well as our wings. I must confess, I repeated this prayer for several days before I moved on. It’s that good.
I would definitely recommend Prayers for Your Children to any parent who is serious about bathing their children in prayer. I plan to start gifting it to new and expectant parents that we know!
Prayers for Your Children is available on Amazon and at local retailers.
Wow. What an amazing post. I truly believe in the power of prayer, and what an amazing story you and you little one have! 🙂
Praise God!!! Thank you so much for sharing your story! What a lovely story that truly shows the power of prayer! God Bless your family!
God is so amazing!! I was told for years that I would never have children due to medication, etc. We were blessed with our son who had a cleft palate (only minor in soft area) which was repaired with only 1 surgery. With Dr.’s telling me the child I would have would have Down Syndrome or Spina Bifida, I was blessed to only have to deal with that small repair. God is so good!! 🙂
Wow! I have goosebumps reading this story! We had a similar situation. I had an ultrasound done with my first daughter and it showed a large mass inside of her. It was even videotaped. We had friends from our small home group pray over us and my daughter. We went to a specialist a week later who did another ultrasound and there was nothing there! God is still in the business of doing miracles!
What an amazing testimony! I am in tears! I too believe strongly in the power of prayer and had God answer mine during my pregnancy with my daughter. As my friend reminded me during our scare, God is bigger than ultrasounds and medical opinions. Thanks for sharing your story 🙂
How great is our God by Chris Tomlin is running through my head now. Thank you for sharing your wonderful, moving testimony. The book sounds like one I’d love to add to my collection. Thank you for the opportunity to win it.
I would like to get a Veggie Tales DVD so I can watch with my grandsons.
I would like to get the Adventure Bible for my kids.
What a great story! I would actually get the book you reviewed so that my husband and I can better pray for our son.
This is a beautiful story. I love it when God surprises us and shows His healing power. Sharing.
Praise God! I love that He let you know the moment it happened too. A medical mystery indeed. Thanks for sharing. The book looks like a great way to focus on prayer.
God Bless This Home Wall Art with Black Frame – 10 1/2″ x 10 1/2″ is what I would purchase.
Such a great story! thank you for sharing! I would get Max Lucado’s On Calvary’s Hill!