I wholeheartedly believe prayer is the difference between imperfect parenting and perfecting parenting. Because at the end of the day, we all fall short in the parenting department. And that’s okay! We are never expected to be perfect parents.

In this series, we’ve touched on just a few aspects of parenting in hope to ensure our children become who God created them to be. From leading them toward their bent, stepping up as the keeper of their dreams, cultivating both a confident and humble heart in them, and choosing to embrace great expectations through the entire journey.

I feel as though I’ve saved the best for last…the core truth of prayer as the agent which fuels all of parenting. It’s the one truth I’ve tried to weave throughout each week. That yes, as parents, we are called to plan and direct and facilitate all aspects of growth for our child. But doing it alone has never been part of the plan.

But parenting alone has never been part of the plan.

I remember when my oldest son became absorbed in connecting with his Scottish heritage and wanted to learn to play the bagpipes. It wasn’t as easy as getting him involved in the school band. Although it was my goal to have all my children play an instrument, and I wanted it to flow from an interest, not a demand, this wasn’t the choice I expected. And I had no idea how to make it happen.

So I prayed. Really, I pleaded with God to provide what I could not.

And this pleading ended up becoming a pivotal moment of really soaking in the promise in Matthew 7:11 of how God longs to give good gifts to his children.

When the answer arrived, it changed my entire prayer life over my children.

This wasn’t just about raising my children in hope. It’s about immersing them in faith. It’s all about leading my children to the heart of God, our True Hope. I want them to experience the heart of God, their Father, who only has His best for them and will never withhold goodness.Within the month, we received the community newspaper in the mail listing the “community education classes” scheduled for the semester at all of the participating high schools. At the time, I was busy raising 3 children and certainly didn’t have time for learning pottery or floral design or any other life-enriching activity, so the fact that I even opened the pages was an oddity.

I didn’t get far before the chill bumps trickled through my body. There is was…Bagpiping lessons… offered by the city bagpipe band! Even better, it was a block away and cost $8 a semester. I was ecstatic!

We reaped the rewards of that good gift over and over. Within a year, my son became a member of the band. Throughout the next few years, he competed solo around the state and ended up studying under one of the leading open pipers from Scotland. All this because a little 9-year-old boy longed to connect with his Scottish heritage.

When we choose to pray over our children, we are inviting God’s very best for them.

This answered prayer didn’t happen for just one of my children. God has been faithful to answer this prayer and many more for each. In ways only attributed to His loving kindness and unwavering desire to give good gifts to those who are called by His name.

The only thing I did was choose to pray. And as I began to believe in the heart of God, I chose to give up pleading, and instead pray with confidence and boldness over my children. Because stewarding their dreams and guiding them toward their passion is also important to God. And if it’s important to Him also, “how much more will our Heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask Him.”

When we choose to pray over our children, we are inviting God’s very best for them. Share on X

My friend, we are not meant to carry the weight of parenting alone. We are never expected to provide everything our child needs by ourselves. To try is to choose weariness and regret because we simply aren’t meant to do it all.

Parenting our children in hope is all about pointing them to God as their True Hope.

It’s teaching them to trust not in themselves but in the One who created them out of His good pleasure. And it’s choosing to advocate for them through prayer for more than we could ever provide.

It’s choosing to invite God to enter in. To do His good work in their lives and to lead them into who they are created to be.

It’s about passing on identity, faith, and hope…

to carry them into eternity.