Seven Prayers

   In Psalm 72, David prays for his son Solomon, the son that will take over his throne.

   "Please help the king
to be honest and fair
    just like you, our God.
² Let him be honest and fair
with all your people,
    especially the poor.
³ Let peace and justice rule
    every mountain and hill.
⁴ Let the king defend the poor,
rescue the homeless,
    and crush
    everyone who hurts them."

   I immediately thought about what I pray for my son, and, although this could be risky, because it may look like my prayers are for him to begin doing these things and get right, when, in fact, he has and is doing a lot of this. Thinking along these lines also leads me to things I wish I had done, or done better, when I was in his position, so I pray that he will not do as I did, in the same way.

   There is another potential problem in all of this, and that is that since I am concentrating today on my oldest, I must also commit to doing the same for my other 2 kids. Now that should not be so hard, because I do pray for each on a regular basis, but to have to write it all down, now that is the rub.

    So, alas, I begin:

   I pray that my son will hear from God daily. That he will take the time to read, meditate, pray and listen for the advice and strength that comes from the One who loves him and knows what is best for him in his place.

   I pray that he will be the strong Christian father and husband and lead his wife and children in that way, treating them as God wants, with love in all things.

   I pray that he will be the servant-leader in his family, community and vocation.

   I pray that he will be honest and fair (as in the Psalm above) with everyone that he comes in contact with, and that others will see this in his life.

   I pray that he will, indeed, take note of those less fortunate, and share in their suffering.

   I pray that he will show, in his positions of leadership, those character traits that bring out the best in others, that he will lead by example in all he does.

   I pray that he will do his best in all his endeavors, so that he will not be able to look back later and wish he had done more.

   Seven prayers must be good, although there are others that I probably should have written. I am proud of my oldest, he has done exceedingly well, and God has blessed him. With blessing comes responsibility, and he is definitely a responsible man. I thank God that he turned out so well.

   Good grief, now I've got to do 2 more kids.