When we ask God for what our grown children need, we stand on the threshold of a spiritual contradiction. On the one hand, Jesus encourages us to go to the Father with all of our needs. On the other hand, he exhorts us to have faith and stop worrying. Perhaps the answer to this puzzle lies in praying through our worries, no matter how long it takes to experience relief. Perhaps the answer lies in finding a way to get “unstuck” in prayer, a way to see things from God’s point of view.
Praying Can Be a Messy Proposition
Praying for a grown child’s needs can be a messy proposition. Such prayer might take a long time and sorting through many emotions. It might even require the support of others. So turn toward God and take the time to describe your grown child’s or children’s needs as part of your daily prayers. And be sure to include your own feelings about their needs. If you have several grown children, you may want to pray for each of them by name every day, but then spend a little more time praying for just one of them.
Then the next day, pray for the next son or daughter. In this way, you will give spiritual attention to each one over the course of a week. And finally, keep in mind that God already knows what each one needs. So you can pray,“Jesus, remember what I asked for yesterday? I believe that you have already heard my prayer and are working on an answer. You know what is needed. You care about her (or his) troubles. So I give my daughter (or son) to you again. I place my child in your care right now, most holy Savior. Amen.”
Surrender Our Lives
God also calls us to surrender our own lives as we surrender the lives of our grown sons and daughters in prayer. When we do so, we offer God one of the most meaningful sacrifices of all. We lift up our children from the depths of our hearts and place them in God’s heart. We step aside from our feelings and step away from loving them alone. This means letting go of a person who has been an intimate part of our lives physically, emotionally, and spiritually. It means sacrificing not only a son or daughter, but the years spent providing for them. And finally, prayerful surrender acknowledges God as the ultimate source of all goodness and hope. God alone can love them, through us or in spite of us… Read more