Day 329: Weekly Prayer: Your Priorities

You have a lot of relationships in your life that you need to foster—your relationship with me, God, our children, our church, your friends, and your family and mine. Some of these relationships have priority over others and maintaining that proper balance can be tough!

For act 329, I read and prayed through the chapter on priorities in The Power of a Praying Husband. Omartian talked about the importance of living a balanced life, giving appropriate attention to your relationships, your spiritual life, your responsibilities, yourself, etc. I prayed that you would be able maintain a good balance in your life, but I focused on praying that you would maintain a good balance in and give appropriate priority to the various relationships in your life.

I prayed that you would give your relationship with God priority over every other relationship. I prayed that you would put me next and the kids after that. From there, I prayed that you would have time to foster good relationships with other people in your life. I can help with that by providing opportunities for you to be with others.

I think you do a great job in this area. I pray that you would grow even more.

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Day 293: Weekly Prayer

For act 293, I prayed through the fourth chapter of The Power of a Praying Husband, which was about praying for one’s wife’s role as a mother.

This is a challenging stage in your life as a mother. I’m gone all day at least five days a week for work and we have three children under 6. That means you’re at home alone all day (nearly) every day with three very young children who (in spite of their virtues) are often whining, scratching, biting, screaming, fighting, running, and tripping. They’re frequently hurting themselves and others, needing food, drink, snuggles, sleep, comfort, and kisses. Basically, they’re dependent on you for almost everything.

Given this, nearly every day when I come home, you’re at your wit’s end and the children are going crazy. So, typically, I keep them company, usually by taking them outside and letting them get some energy out.

I prayed, for my 15 minutes, that you would have the strength and energy you need to care for our children, to meet their needs while I’m at work. I also prayed that God would give you patience and wisdom as you seek to raise them well.

Day 73: Homemade Hearts

On Saturday, the girls and I each made you an ornament for the tree. For each of us, I glued two candy canes together in the shape of a heart. Then, we made bows on our candy-cane hearts out of pipe cleaners. Next, we each made a note for you and attached it to our respective bows. Finally, we put hooks on the hearts so we could hang them on the tree.

I like involving our girls in my acts of love. For one, I’m leading them by example, teaching them the proper way to treat you. It remains a fact that whether or not I’m a good example for our children, they follow me. The same goes for you. Their idea of how to treat others is formed (in part) by the way we treat each other. In general, the kind of person a child becomes is due (in part) to the kind of lives his parents lead. In other words, a child’s home makes his heart. In light of this, may God’s grace abound in us so that we can treat each other well. May he forgive us when we fail. (I admit that I fail daily.)  Two, by involving our girls in my acts of love, they themselves practice love for others, selflessness, etc. In both of these ways, then, 365 Acts of Love has the potential to shape our kids’ hearts to be more like Christ’s heart. May God use it for that end.

“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” (Prov. 22:6)