The Desire of my Heart for my Family

How often have you heard people praising God because their children and even their grandchildren are believers and are following God's call on their lives? And how often has this brought a deep sadness to you, because your own children have fallen away from the faith that you taught them to the best of your ability?

You probably feel like Job who said ‘My days have passed, my plans are shattered, and so are the desires of my heart’(Job 17:11). We love our children so much, we believe we’ve brought them up right, and the thought of them no longer sharing in our salvation is almost too hard to bear.

Of course, we keep on praying for them! Nobody can underestimate the power of prayer: ‘The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective’ (James 5:16). But as the years pass, a sense of hopelessness threatens to rob us of the faith that we once had. Maybe we are even ashamed of our family, feeling that it’s ‘a bad witness’ that our children have lost their faith. Sometimes, in a private place, our emotions well up and we find ourselves crying out in despair for our lost loved ones - like we have so often before. It really hurts.

We don’t know the family details of the Apostle Paul, or even if he was ever married, but he had the same desire for his own people: ‘Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved’ (Romans 10:1). Two thousand years later, Paul's prayer is being answered more and more as Messianic congregations spring up all over the world and in ‘The Land’ itself - but we can't wait two thousand years for our children to be saved!

Please believe this: your faith and your prayers are not in vain. God ‘shows love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments’, and blessing will always flow from you to your family. God knows the deepest desires and groanings of your heart, and His desire is to grant them. ‘Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours’ (Mark 11:24).

Never give up! Share your desires with other people so that they can pray with you from time to time. Keep on loving your children and assuring them of your love, even if they seem to be trying to avoid you. Maybe even now the Holy Spirit is bringing a conviction to their hearts and the enemy is trying to stifle it, so don't give up!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I’m so grateful that my children were able to hear Your truth when they were young. I ask You now to speak to them by Your Holy Spirit, break down the barriers that the enemy has built, and call them back to Yourself. Grant me the desire of my heart for my children, because I know that it’s also Your desire. I ask this in Jesus' precious name. Amen.