The Dynamic Duo

Discipline & Prayer: Why the two need to be used simultaneously when raising our children.

I am the mother of 3 boys, 23-year-old, 18-year-old, and 6-year-old. Some people believe that raising boys is easier than raising girls; in some instances, that may be true; however, I found the middle school years through the first year of high school to be very trying as my boys were coming up. Once they hit the age of 13, they turned into these monsters that I did not recognize. I tried talking to them, yelling at them, and punishing them to no avail. Their behavior just seemed to remain the same. I had gotten to the point where I had thrown my hands up in defeat and gave up, but then I got the revelation of prayer. I learned of Stormie Omartain and her book, Power of a Praying Parent. I began praying for my children and continued to pray even though I did not see immediate changes. In praying for them, I was empowered and strengthened and no longer felt defeated. Slowly, I began to see changes in their behavior and my ability to handle it. Ultimately, we made it through, and I can now say that I am incredibly proud of the path my children are on. My Eldest is attending ministry school and is pre-med in college. My middle son writes praise and worship music, is an active member of our church's praise team, and aspires to attend Columbia College to major in music to share his gift of worship with the world.

Parenting with Ease

"Every one of our children will be brought into the ark if we pray and work earnestly for them." - Dwight L. Moody

As parents, we find it easy to pray for our young children to be guided and protected by the Lord. It gets harder as that child gets older and begins to rebel and act out in disobedience. Then, the "Rod of Correction" comes out, and we forget all about prayer. However, that is the time we MUST pray the most. Now, I am not saying not to bring out the rod; absolutely bring it out. I am trying to emphasize that we must also bring out the weapons of our warfare as well. Which the bible has already told us are not carnal, but mighty to the pulling down of strongholds. Naturally, your child has to know that their behavior is unacceptable, and spiritually, the enemy has to know that you will not allow him to influence and take your child from you or God. We have to put that devil in his place so that he understands that your child is not up for grabs but under the authority and covering of God. Once we send up prayers for our children, it removes the burden off of us to get them delivered and puts it into God's hands, and now we can parent with ease.

Consistency is Key

The key component to doing anything successfully is consistency. If you want to see a change in any situation or circumstance, you must be steadfast in doing what needs to be done to make the change. We are quick to give up when we don't see immediate changes, but we must develop perseverance and stay in the battle until we see the manifestation.

"And let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. ......Galatians 6:9 (NKJV)

So when we start the journey of discipline AND prayer, we have to continue the journey of discipline AND prayer. We cannot start off doing both and then let one or the other fall to the ground. It is imperative that we continue down the path to do both. Again, the discipline takes care of the natural, but the prayer handles situations in the spirit realm. This is why we have to continue doing both of them.

Keep Yourself Covered

So when we pray in the spirit realm against the enemy, a weapon will be formed. God's Word says that the weapon will not prosper, not that it would not form. We must remember to keep ourselves covered in prayer against all spirits of backlash and retaliation. Some examples of that are but are not limited to sickness in your body, attacks against your finances, attacks on your job, strife, and discord between you and your spouse, as well as increased misbehavior from your children. When you notice things like this, it is a way for the enemy to get you off track and hinder, distract, or stop you from working toward your child's deliverance.

That is why it is essential to continuously pray for yourself. It really does not have to be a big, long, drawn-out prayer. Just take authority and decree that no spirits of backlash or retaliation will come against you or anyone and anything connected to you! Then declare that the blood of Jesus keeps and covers you. That's it! That's all!

God's Speed!

For more tools on how to pray for your children, reference my book Declarations from a Mother's Heart! There are prayers for everything from disobedience to homosexuality.