As a mother of three young boys, I'm constantly on the lookout for books that give wisdom and direction in raising boys. More so even than these however, I'm constantly looking for guidance on how to pray for them. Prayer is such a powerful tool and weapon at our disposal, and I constantly feel like I lack in this department, which grieves me because I know how effective it is and how it is our best way to communicate and have fellowship with our Lord and Creator. As Rob Tiegen says in the beginning of the book, "Out of all the things my wife does for our family, the greatest are her prayers for us every day. It's a tremendous way that she demonstrates love for her family." I've read other books on being a praying wife and mother, but they have usually all been general in nature, not necessarily giving examples. This one is different.
I loved A Mom's Prayers for Her Son! Written by Rob and Joanna Teigen, the book has a brief preface from each author before diving right in to the meat of it... 77 prayers that cover the needs of your children ranging from discipline and comfort issues, to spiritual maturity and future decisions. The last prayer is even one for when we don't know what to pray! Intermixed between these are encouraging stories from mothers, as well as advice or wisdom when it comes to topics like idols, blessings or failures, where we as parents can become part of the problem. For example, one point that stuck out to me was that we need to be careful in praying for blessings, because when we think we are praying for bread, we might be praying for stones instead, and we don't want the perceived blessings to break their communion with God. Even though I probably wouldn't pray these prayers word for word, they still gave me wonderful ideas so that my prayers don't become monotonous and rote. Each chapter (prayer) also begins with at least a couple of verses (usually in NIV) that pertain to the topic, which I was so thankful for, because if you enjoy praying Scripture over your children, these will give you some direction on where to begin. Although directed towards mothers for their sons, I think many of these prayers could be adapted to meet the need for prayer for siblings, friends, etc, and I have done this already.
I received a copy free in exchange for my review, but unfortunately it was lost in the mail. It must have been divine Providence though, because when the copy arrived, I had been frazzled after a week of dealing with three sick children. I sat down and began reading/praying through some of the prayers and I could just feel the burdens and weariness being lifted and a divine peace settling over me. These prayers were also a timely reminder that no matter how 'great' we are as parents, every good gift is from above, and only God can bring the increase into their lives, giving us a freedom to just be ourselves, if we choose to acknowledge and apply this truth. Although I recommend this book, I think it is best as a reference to go to when you need guidance with what to pray for a specific situation, as it was hard for me to read straight through for the review, even with the scattered personal stories throughout (which I don't think this was made to be a book for that), as many of these prayers are not applicable to my younger children yet!
Disclosure of Material Connection: As stated in the review, I received a copy of this book free from the publisher in exchange for the review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255
