Heavenly Father,
Thank You for my pastor’s family. Thank You for blessing them with three children, three unique children.
Thank You for allowing us the privilege of watching these children grow and even giving us the opportunities to pour into their lives through AWANA and Sunday School. Or just smiling at them as we pass in the hallways.
I know it isn’t easy to be a pastor’s kid. I’m sure there are perks – like always being there for the donuts before Sunday School. But it must be frustrating when they are asked for the tenth time how they are doing today. Every Sunday. Give them patience and help them to develop an ease with older folks. Help them realize that they can minister to older people by being patient and kind.
Protect them, Father. It may be that they have classmates who make fun of them for being the preacher’s kids. Perhaps they feel the sting of failure when others think that they should always be doing everything right because they’re the preacher’s kids. Give them good friends who also love You. Friends who encourage them and don’t treat them differently because they are the preacher’s kids.
Give them a strong testimony. A courageous witness to their classmates, teammates, and teachers. Give them wisdom to know when to confide in their parents.
Help them to embrace the teachings of Your Word. Give them a love for You. Give them a hunger and thirst to follow You completely. Keep them from thinking that they are a Christian because of what their dad does. Keep them from relying on their parents’ faith – help them to each develop their own personal faith in You. Give them joy.
Protect them from evil. Keep them strong. Even when they see others doing wrong, give them compassionate hearts with a strong faith.
Help those of us in the church not to expect something more from them just because they are the preacher’s kids. Help us to be kind and patient and helpful. Remind us to pray for them. Let them know we love them because God loves them, not because they are the preacher’s kids. Keep us from ever using them to get to their parents.
Remind them every day of Your love and care for them. And nudge me, Lord, when I can be a blessing to them and to their whole family.
Amen
Thank you, Lynnette! I would love to have people in my congregation praying these things for my children, and I’m sure every PW who reads this will hope the same. Thanks for your heart for pastors, their wives AND their children!
Thank you for this, Lynnette. This is beautiful and spot-on.
Beautiful, Lynette! It brings tears to my eyes even as my children are gone and have their own children now. One is a pastor.