February 24, 2014

Valentine's Prayers for My Children by Lynn Dove


I believe in the power of what I call "Valentine's Prayers" for each of my children. Praying they would one day find their lifetime Valentine just like I found mine thirty-five years ago!

From the day my children were born, I began praying for their future spouses. Some may call it odd to be praying for two boys and one girl, whom I had never met, nor would likely meet until my two daughters and my son introduced the "love of their life" to me for the first time. The thing is, if I believe that God has mapped out a plan for my three children and if it is His purpose to see them married, I believe He has also chosen a perfect spouse for each of them.

I know that we live in a culture where there seems to be a tension between what God's plan is and our "choices" and I will admit that when my kids started bringing home their friends and I met prospective "dates", I wasn't sure if God's plan and their choice meshed. Still, I prayed that if God was directing their steps, He would also eventually lead them to the "right" one.

By God's design, when my oldest daughter was in university, she started dating a six foot seven young man who had (and still has) the healthiest appetite we had ever seen. He was not a Christian and that concerned me greatly. I questioned God's plan and wondered why my prayer for a Godly spouse for her seemed to go awry. I needn't have feared...

My daughter knew she could not continue a relationship with a non-Christian and urged him to attend Alpha classes with her and weeks later he accepted the Lord. In their ten years of marriage, my tall son-in-law has attended seminary and attained a Bachelor of Christian Ministry and is serving the Lord as a licensed Biblical Counsellor. My daughter and he are Godly parents to my two grandbabies and I praise God for the boy I prayed for when my daughter was only days old.

My son, started attending a Christian school in Grade eight and a few days later I was introduced to his new friend, a sweet girl with a wide smile and a mouth full of braces. Their friendship grew through high school and into university and we praise God that we will be blessed to welcome a new daughter-in-law into our family on August 10th, 2014. She is a girl who loves God with all her heart, mind, soul and strength and who loves my son. She is the answer to my prayers for my son while I rocked him in my arms as a baby.

My youngest daughter has been dating a young man for the past year. He has a warm smile, a hearty laugh and treats our girl with respect. He is showing some interest in learning about God, and I pray one day he will place his full trust and faith in Him. It is, after all, a prayer I have prayed for each of my children from the time they were infants, for all their friends, and for their future spouses. I have no doubt if my daughter is allowing God to direct her steps (Proverbs 16:9), my Valentine's Prayers for her will also be answered!



Readers may connect with Lynn via her Journey Thoughts blog: http://lynndove.com/ or follow her on Twitter: @LynnIDove


6 comments:

  1. Tracy,
    What a great post about praying for our children. Praying for their live partners - at such an early age. I am so grateful that even though not a follower back then God still blessed my kids with awesome spouses.
    Thanks,
    Blessings,
    Janis www.janiscox.com

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  2. Very important to pray for our children and their future spouses. Thanks for this reminder!

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  3. So enjoyed reading how your prayers -- and His faithfulness -- have been unfolding into such beautiful 'valentines' for your children.

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  4. I too have 3 children and have been praying for their future spouses. It is a beautiful opportunity God gives us as mothers--to pray. Thanks for sharing your story.

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  5. What reassuring answers to prayer, Lynn. God has rewarded your faithfulness in praying for your children. In Janet Seever's devotional for the contest, she reminded us that prayer is a beginning, rather than a last resort. You certainly did start at the very beginning. Bless you for that!

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