Parenting Points
We live in a culture who embraces different values, priorities, and beliefs than we are called to have as Christ-followers. From turning on the TV to scrolling through Facebook, we constantly see things that push agendas that don’t promote the truth of the gospel. As parents, we also realize that every time our child taps the screen of their iPhone, they are also coming face to face with this conflicting worldview.
When Jesus was preparing to go to the cross, He was considering the scary moment we also face as parents of sending our kids in the world. As Jesus prayed, He was praying for His disciples. Jesus prays in John 17:15-18 ESV, “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.” Here are three truths Jesus prayed over His disciples that you can pray over your kids as they engage our culture:
1. Pray that Your Kids Would be Protected from Spiritual Warfare. Jesus begins by acknowledging that there is an evil one. Satan is real, and your kids are in a spiritual war. In a war, there are causalities, and Jesus prays for the protection of His disciples. Pray for protection for your kids because spiritual warfare is real.
2. Pray that Your Kids Would Live for Eternity. Jesus reminds the Father that His disciples are not of this world. If your kids are followers of Jesus, this world is not their home. Pray that your kids would live life in this world living with the priorities of heaven.
3. Pray that Your Kids Would Live Set Apart. Jesus prays for the sanctification of His disciples. Sanctification is the idea that someone would live set apart for a special use. As Christians, Jesus has called your kids to live differently than the world and has empowered them to live that difference by the Holy Spirit’s work in them. Pray that your kids would live set apart from the world.
If Jesus thought praying for His disciples was so important in His final hours, we should take time to embrace that same important task when it comes to praying faithfully for our kids as we send them into the culture.
–Ben Birdsong 
Writer, Speaker, and Minister
