Peter Witkowski Parenting

Should We Teach Our Kids To Pray?

kids-prayWhen I was five-years-old, I fervently prayed for a little sibling. I hated being the youngest in my family. The idea of a having a younger brother or sister sounded cool. I could play with a baby, the old people would stop telling me how cute I was, and there would be someone else to blame for my messes. By God’s grace, my little sister was born. So did God answer my prayer? Did he answer the prayer of a little unconverted preschooler?

How we answer that question has huge implications for how we raise our kids. The answer to the questions shapes how we teach our kids to pray. So…did God answer my prayer?

The answer is:

How Prayer Works

As one theologian said, prayer is “Our response to God as he speaks to us.” Our ability to reach the ear of God is tied to the work of Christ. To cry “Abba Father,” we must be members of God’s family.  God listens to our prayers not because we are impressive. He listens to our prayers because we are in Jesus. The Father always hears the prayers of his son (John 11:41-42). Since we are sons with Jesus, we can be confident that the Father hears us as well. When Christians pray to the Father, he does not see dirty sinners. He sees sons redeemed by the death of Christ on the cross (Gal 4:6-7). Our ability to reach God is directly tied to our identification with his son. If we have not died to our sin and if we have not been risen again, then we cannot reach God.

Moreover, prayer is based upon the word of God. Good prayers are passed on God’s Word. We ask God to fulfill his will. Those who do not believe the Word, cannot meaningfully speak to God (I John 5:14-15). Yes, sinners can ask for things selfishly. But, they cannot ask for things according to the scriptures that they have rejected. They cannot respond appropriately to the Word of God.

In short, every unredeemed man, women, and child is unable to access the throne room. They are not sons of God but slaves to sin. Most of their prayers but one goes unheard. So did God answer my prayer? No.

What Do We Tell Our Kids?

Should we every encourage our kids to pray? Yes and no. Yes, it is good for kids to learn how to pray. It is good for them to confess to God that every good gift comes from above. By recognizing God’s authority, they may avoid the prideful boasts that doomed both Nebuchadnezzar and Herod. One went nuts; the other died boasting.  Prayers like the following: “I thank you for mommy, daddy, grandma JoJo, the dog, and basketballs, Amen” are good and proper offerings. They help kids understand their relation to their divine creator.

Even more importantly, kids should pray because salvation comes through prayer. When one believes, he cries out to God the Father for salvation through the Holy Spirit. The new believer confesses Christ through prayer. Because prayer plays such a key role in salvation, parents should introduce their kids to prayer. And parents should encourage their kids to pray for forgiveness. Parents should teach equip their kids to cry out to God.

Limited Focus

And now for the negative. While Parents should encourage prayer, they must also place biblical limits when and how their kids pray. Because unsaved kids cannot reach the throne room of God, we should not charge them to pray for the family, to pray in church services, or to pray for those in need. We should let unredeemed sinners (even the cute ones) offer prayers for in our stead. God will not hear those prayers. Rather as believers, we should pray alongside or in place of our children for specific requests and needs. And then, we should explain to our kids that Christ only hears the prayers of his children. In short, keeping a proper perspective on childhood prayer will lead to more gospel conversations with our kids.

Closing Thoughts

So did God answer my prayer for a baby sister? The answer is no. But I still have a little sister. What happened?  God had planned to bless my family with my little sister. He did in fact work out his plans through the prayers of my mother and other believers. But he did not answer my prayer. I had no part in his divine will.  And while it is good for us to teach our kids to pray, we must always remind them that only the sons of God can reach their father.

How do you handle prayer in your family?

Peter Witkowski Discipleship

5 Ways To Pray For Your Church

Nothing in ministry happens by chance. God works. He builds his church. If we want to see our church grow, we must be humbly dependent on God. We must pray. Below, I our 5 great ways to pray for our church and ministries.

1. Pray For Unity:

Friends, unity is supernatural. Churches are made up of people like you and like me. old man prayingI.e, Churches are made up of sinners. This means that every day we worship together, we teach Sunday school, and lead a bible study there is an opportunity for conflict. “Did you see what she was wearing; why didn’t Bob talk to me; do you think is upset about my Facebook post; how dare you correct my child?” It’s easy to let these thoughts fester. It’s easy to get offended and then to have fights in the church. It’s easy to destroy God’s house from within. This is why so much of the new testament is focused on relationships, on loving one another. We have to work at it. Notice what Paul says in Philippians 1:27

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel.”

When the gospel takes hold of our lives it should produce unity and peace. Pray for God to work. Pray for God to give us humble hearts that are quick to ask for forgiveness and that are quick to defer to others. Pray for God to give us unity.

2. Pray For your Pastor and leaders:

Hebrews 13:18 says, “Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a good conscience, desiring to conduct ourselves honorably in all thing.” Paul regularly asked for prayer. We need to pray for our leaders’ holiness, for their relationships with their families and for them to have opportunity to reach the lost.

3. Pray for Wisdom:

Psalm 119:18 says, “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.” To fully understand the word of the God, we have to apply it to our lives. Sure, we can understand the Bible on our by going to school and getting a degree. We can know what it says. But we can’t live it out on our own. We need the help of the Holy Spirit. We can’t be changed by ourselves. Pray for God to open our eyes to his word. To fully understand it and to apply it, we need God’s help.

4. Pray For Salvation:

John 6:63 says, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” If we want to see someone “get saved,” then we need to invite God to work. We can’t save anybody. I don’t care how cool your games were, how fun your lock-ins are, or how techy your service will be. We will save no one. Rather, we need to apply to the God from whom nothing is impossible.

5. Pray For God To Work:

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,” (Eph. 3:20). The reason I get stressed when kids’ ministry workers quit, when events flop, and when new programs take forever to launch is that I miss this truth. I often think it’s up to me. For a ministry to grow, I have to be smart, creative, and cool. But that’s not the case. God’s working. He can do way more than we expect. God is not a little idol in a closet somewhere. He is the ruler of the universe. He moves planets and starts. And he can do more than all our tiny brains could ever imagine. I can’t tell you how many times God has provided, blessed events, and grown new programs simply through prayer. Time and time again, God has gone ahead of my phone calls and has already begun drawing people to teach, lead and serve.  Let’s pray to the God of the universe. And then let’s expect him to work. 

Peter Witkowski Pain & Suffering

A Pastor’s Response To The Recent Break-Ins.

Break inOver the last few weeks, our belief in Mayberry has been shaken.  Car windows all throughout Eastman have being shattered.  The crime spree is dominating our little Eastman new cycle (I.E. Facebook) because at some level we all affected by the crimes.  More than petty cash was stolen. Our feelings of security, comfort, and safety have been snatched away from us. And now, we are left with fear, worry, and hurt.

So how do we respond? How do regain our feeling of security and comfort? Naturally, we should be wise. We should lock our car doors, take our wallets inside, and report suspicious activity to the police.

But what about our hearts and emotions? How do we regain our feelings of security, comfort, and safety? Thankfully, the Bible has a lot to say about crime and fear. Here are five things we can do refocus our hearts!  

  1. Remember Crime is Normal:

We live in a post Genesis 3 world. In other words, we live in a fallen world in habited by fallen people. And not too surprisingly, sinful people do sinful people things (like gossip, lie, and even steal).  We can be 100% certain that people will disappoint us, harm us, and take our stuff. This is what people do apart from Christ.  As Paul writes in Romans 10:12 “no one does good/not even one.” We should never place our hope in humanity.  Rather, let’s place our hope in God!  “He alone is my rock and my salvation/my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken” (Psalm 62:1). Don’t expect a fallen world to be good. 

 

  1. Examine Our Treasures

Being robbed is not fun. My vehicles have been broken into five times over the years. I’ve lost everything from CD players to gyms bags full of stinky clothes. And as much as I hate seeing my window busted out, I’ve come to realize that break-ins do have an upside. The help us see what’s in our hearts.

Jesus says in Mathew 6:20-21: “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

If we are troubled to our core by the loss of a gym bag, a CD player, or our wallet we may a bigger problem than the robbery. We may be living for stuff. And if we live for stuff that can be stolen, we are not living for Jesus. I don’t welcome theft. But when we do encounter it, we should stop and ask ourselves, “Where am I laying up treasure?”

 

  1. Trust God

We are not our stuff. Just because God let someone steal from us doesn’t mean he has forsaken us. He very well might be using the events to teach us (even to admonish us). God’s ultimate goal for us is not too be happy, healthy, and content. Often such a lifestyle of peace and affluence keeps us prideful, self-assured, and independent of our creator.  God wants us to have commune closely with Him. God alone is true happiness. We should  trust in the God who loves us and is working everything together for our good (Rom. 8:28). Sure, we may lose our stuff. But in the end, we will have something far greater that can never be stolen:  the righteousness of God!

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4).

 

  1. Be Merciful

Don’t get angry. I’m not saying we skip down the street singing about the latest break-in. When we are sinned against, we naturally feel hurt. Sin is always linked to death and destruction. But the solution is not to seek our own vengeance or justice. Romans 12:19 says, that we are to “never avenge” ourselves because “”Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”” We are called to love our enemies. We are told to care for those who hurt us. Yes, we should want the police to prosecute criminals. We should want to see justice. But we trust God to execute that justice through the government.

We don’t do it. We should not attack made-up criminals on social media.  We shouldn’t be planning what will do to the thief once he’s caught. Rather, we seek to minister to our enemies. And if we don’t know who they are, we pray for them waiting for an opportunity to show them the love of Christ.   

 

  1. Pray

Pray for the thief and his salvation. Ultimately, jail and counseling don’t fix people. The gospel changes people through the power of God. Pray for God to save the one who hurt you (Matt. 5:44). Pray for your enemies. Next, pray for your safety. Since God truly cares for us, we should appeal to him in times of trouble. Don’t worry about what could happen to you or your stuff. Entrust yourself to Jesus! “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on” (Luke 12:22). And lastly of all, pray for justice. God is a just God. He will vindicate the innocent and his children. Ask him work.

 

photo credit: <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/13238706@N00/92520711″>Car vandalism</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a&gt; <a href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/”>(license)</a&gt;