Praying for God's Best for Your Children: Trusting His Plan

Transcript

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Audrey 1:13

Hello, friend. Welcome back to Grace for My Home. I hope that you're doing well. We are doing great. It is a beautiful, beautiful day today here in South Carolina. It's probably 70 degrees outside, and the trees are starting to bloom, and it's just gorgeous. So I have been inside for several days working on stuff. And so today, my hope, my plan is once I finish recording this and do a few things around the house, I'm going to get outside and go for a walk. My walks have have diminished. I have there was a time and I was walking every day, and I've just been in a busy season, and that is one of the first things to go. And it shouldn't be. I know it shouldn't be. But today, when I woke up, I thought, I am going for a walk today. So I'm going to try and carve out some time to do that. I also have a soccer game tonight. So try and make that work out. But we are in a we're in a good season, but it's a busy season, you know. We have soccer starting up. I have one son who's about to graduate. We're going through all those things. Prom is coming up. So, you know, it's it's always always learning, you know, always learning. My my poor son David, he he's my oldest, and he is our guinea pig. And if you have multiple kids, you understand. With him, you know, we we were trying to figure everything out, and we probably were harsher in areas where we should have been more gentle, and probably gentle in some areas where we should have been more harsh. But we, you know, we he he's doing fine. But my son Caleb, he gets he's the youngest, and he gets to reap the benefits of that, of our hopefully our our our wisdom, the growth that we've had. But everything is about learning and growing, and you know, and and then you know, it's funny, I I always wanted a fourth child. I would have had a fourth child, but it just didn't work out that way. I think I always wanted one more just so I could get it right. And you know, not that you would, but you just think, man, I know so much more now than I did when I had my first. And so, so it is. I don't know if you've ever felt that way, but I have. Today I'm gonna share the last episode in the series that I've been doing about bringing our children to Jesus in prayer. And today it's gonna be a little different, but it's I think it'll be a good way to wrap up this series because, guys, this is my heart to share with you, with the world, is that Jesus cares, is that he cares about the prayers of a mama, that he that we are close to his heart, that he is rooting for us, and you know, it's not us going to him, begging him, it's us bringing him our children, and he is delighted to hear and answer a mama's prayer, even if he doesn't do it in the way we want him to or in the timing that we want him to, that he isn't that he encourages us to come. And that's why, you know, I've gone through these parents in the Bible who had a great need, and their children had a great need, and they knew they didn't have what it took. They knew they needed Jesus, they needed an intervention from God. And the first week we talked about the Seraphonician woman, and her daughter was being tormented by the enemy, and she brought her child to Jesus. And even though others said, Leave him alone, leave us alone, you're not even of the covenant, she kept pressing in until she got the miracle that she came to Jesus for. And then the next week we talked about the young boy who some say was an epileptic because he had seizures and he kept falling into the water and falling into the fire. And he is the one who famously said, Lord, I believe, help my unbelief. And that shows us that we can have both at the same time. We can have faith and doubt, living in the same head space at the same time, like this father did. And Jesus still answered his prayer. Jesus still gave him the desire of his heart. So, you know, you don't have to have perfect faith. You just have to take the faith that you have and go to Jesus and ask him to intervene, ask him to do something, because you can't do it, and you know he can do it. And then last week we talked about the synagogue leader Jarius and how Jesus was going with

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his daughter, his 12-year-old daughter, who was sick and dying, and they got interrupted. And after the interruption, someone came to him and said, Don't bother the master any longer, your daughter is dead. And Jesus looked at him and said, Do not fear, but believe. And so even when we think it's too late, even when we think, you know, I should have gone to Jesus earlier, or Jesus should have come sooner, or these things have prevented me from seeing the miracle. God was not too late. Jesus still performed an even greater miracle than he would have if He'd if He'd arrived earlier. And there's so many examples in the Word of how Jesus cares about us and cares about our children. But today, like I said earlier, I want to talk with you about a different kind of prayer. We're going to read Matthew 20, starting in verse 20, and we're going to read through verses 28. And I'm reading from the New American Standard Bible. This is what it says. It says, Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with her sons, bowing down and making a request of him. And he said to her, What do you wish? She said to him, Command that in your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit one on your right and one on your left. But Jesus answered, You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink? They said to him, We are able. He said to them, My cup you shall drink, but to sit on my right and on my left, this is not mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father. And hearing this the ten became indignant with the two brothers. But Jesus called them to himself and said, You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. And when I was homeschooling my children, that's one of the verses that I remember us memorizing together. The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. And the lesson was always, we are called to serve. We are called to be a blessing. And not to look for other people to give and serve to serve us, but to look for ways that we can be a blessing to other people. Because that was the heart of Jesus. But I I want to talk a little bit about this mama. And, you know, her kids were walking with Jesus literally every day. They were two of his twelve. Of all the people in the world, they had a very special position. But she wanted more. You know, she went straight to Jesus and said, Okay, Jesus, I see your kingdom is about to come into pri place. I see things lining up. Now I want you to promise me that James and John, they're going to be on your left and your right hand. And you got to hand it to her. I mean, she's bold, right? I mean, she she knows what she wants, and she goes straight to the source and she asks for it. I don't know if they put her up to it. I know the other disciples were not happy with them after this conversation. But she brought her request to Jesus, and her heart was that Jesus would find a special place in his kingdom for her children. She wanted the best for her children, and you gotta hand it to her. She went after it. She wasn't worried about what everybody was thinking, or you know, if is if is this appropriate or is this the way you do it? She just did it. And I I I want to point out, okay, Jesus, none of them knew what they were asking for, right? The disciples thought they could do whatever they needed to do. You know, Peter, he's the one who famously said, Jesus, I'll die for you. And Jesus said, Peter, calm down before the night's over. Three times you'll say you don't even know who I am. And Jesus knew that they in themselves did not have what it took to walk where he was about to walk. But at the same time, he knew that they would walk there eventually because he was going to give them power to do the things they couldn't do in their own strength, in their own ability. But they were ignorant of their own weakness. They didn't even realize how weak they were. But they they wanted the position. Lord, give me the position, and I'll do whatever it takes. And they didn't have what it took. But Jesus, I love that he didn't rebuke this woman. He didn't say, How prideful of you, or who do you think you are? He said, Surely they will drink this cup that I'm going to drink. That's that's what that's part of their destiny. But I can't give you a promise that one's gonna be on the left and one's gonna be on the right, because that's not mine to give. See, God has a plan for each and every one of us. None of us are out of sight or forgotten. He has a plan for me, for you, and for each one of your children. He has not forgotten them, and when we bring them to him in prayer, we are reminding him. We are saying, Lord, remember my child, remember my child. And that's what she was doing. She was saying, Lord, remember my sons when you come into your kingdom. Find a place for them. And see, Jesus comforted her in that they will certainly have a place in my kingdom, but it's not up to me. There's a plan, a master plan that was established before the foundation of the world, and that's their place. And I want to say that to you, for your children, for you and for your children. There is a plan. I can't go to Jesus and tell him exactly what I want him to do in each of the lives of my children. I want to. Look, I want to choose the best things for them. But he has a plan, and I have to trust that his plan is better than my plan, and that he knows what he's doing, even when it looks like he has forgotten them, even when it looks like they have somehow they have rolled off the table and rolled out of the door or under the carpet and are hidden from him. I have to believe that he knows exactly where they are, and at the right time, he will bring them back where they need to be. And so this mother, she didn't get her specific request, but she got the comfort of knowing there is a plan, and there's a master plan, and my boys will not be forgotten in that master plan. I say this as a reminder. When you take your children to Jesus in prayer, ask for the good things. Right? Sometimes maybe your kids are in a good place. Maybe they're serving the Lord, maybe they're not in need of healing or deliverance or salvation, maybe they're walking strong with the Lord, maybe they're on the path. It's okay to ask Jesus for good things for your children. Actually, it's it's our job. You know, as mamas, that's what we do. And we provide all we can, but then we come to the Lord to provide what we can't. And it's okay to ask for the best. Lord Jesus, I ask you for the best for my daughter, for my son. I want the best mate. Lord, I want the best job. Lord, I want the best friends for my children. That's a good prayer. But trust him with the outcome. When they don't get the job that you prayed and hoped and asked the Lord for, just remember it wasn't in the plan. It's okay. Let it go. Because sometimes being the best mom is understanding that they have a father who is in heaven and that's not us. James and John were about to go through a huge testing. I got a feeling if that mother knew what she was really asking for, she probably would have adjusted her prayer, right? Sometimes it's good that we don't know what the future holds because we would try to change it. But God is more concerned with the development of our character than he is with our comfort. And the same is true for our children. He is more concerned about them becoming the men and women of God that He created them to be. Nothing wrong with good things and comfort. But when things don't go that way, he's developing character. But when things don't go the way we thought they should, when we have to go through v trials and things we would rather not, then that is a wonderful opportunity for God to develop his character in us. And that's what was about to happen to James and John, though they did not know it. They had no idea the intensity of the trial they were about to endure. But Jesus knew. Jesus knew. And he knew it would be worth it. You know, one of the things about the trials is they're always worth it. When we see, you know, we know that for ourselves, but there's something about seeing our children go through those things that we want to rescue them because that's what we've always done. You know, when they were little and they run out in front of the road and a car was coming, we'd run out there and rescue them. You know, if they were in danger, we would give our life to get them out of danger. And as they become older and they mature and they become adults, that mama instinct is still in there. And if there's something I can do to relieve pain for my child, yes, I want to do that. But there are some things I can't do. Or if I do, I won't interfere with in what he's doing in them. You know, if we constantly rescue our children, if we constantly rescue them from the consequences of their decisions, then what we're telling them is you're not able. But if we listen to the Lord, if we allow him to direct us and to help us, and we ask him to show us, you know, when he's working versus when the enemy's working, when we should say something versus when we should not say something, when it's just gonna make things worse, then we'll grow as a mama and we'll grow in wisdom and our children will grow in the Lord. I'm glad to wrap up this series on prayer with such a good message, right? Bring your children to Jesus, ask for the best things, and then leave it all in his hands. And understand that even when you ask for the best things, God's way of bringing about the best things don't always look like we want them to, right? Sometimes it looks hard. And we wonder if if we should have prayed at all or if if we should have done something different. And you know, guys, there comes a time we have to let go. We just have to let go and let God. And that includes letting go of our children. Doesn't mean we don't pray, doesn't mean we don't care, doesn't mean we don't encourage, but we trust the process that God has heard my prayers, he cares about them more than I do, that he has a good plan for them, and that's how I'm praying. And I hope that this has been an encouraging word for you today. I hope that it meets you where you are. If it doesn't, I hope that one day the Lord will bring it back to your remembrance when you're at a place when it will speak to your heart. And I want to ask you a favor this week. If this message has been encouraging to you, if it hit the mark, if there was something in it that you think, oh, I I needed that, would you consider sharing it with a friend who may be in the same or a similar situation? That would be the greatest way you could say thank you for sharing this message. Because it is my heart's desire to encourage you, to bless you, and to help you as a Christian mom, one to another. Because I love what you're doing, and I'm excited to be a part of what God's doing on this earth through our children. Before you go, let's pray. Father, in Jesus' name, we thank you that you are on the throne and we are not, that you have a good plan, and Lord, that you haven't forgotten us, you've not forgotten our children, that Lord, we're not buried beneath, Lord, our problems, that we may feel that way, but you're right there with us. We're not hidden from your sight. And God, I pray today for for this one who is listening who needs to know that you care, who needs to know that you are answering her prayers. It just doesn't look the way she thought it would. And God, I pray for hope. I pray for strength. I pray for a fresh wind of joy. And Lord, that that there would be an awakening, Lord God, in her spirit. That Lord, joy would rise up when she sees God sees me, He remembers me. This is part of the process. I haven't I haven't lost him at all. He hasn't lost me at all. And Lord, we just thank you for your grace and your mercy in Jesus' name. Amen.