My son got a raise yesterday. He’s only 22, working at his first professional job in the big city. To be recognized and respected in his field at such an early age is an honor and blessing—not something either of us take for granted.
So of course I’m thanking God for that blessing. But when I spent time with Him this morning, God led me to pray beyond thanksgiving. He prompted me to pray big-picture prayers for my son that look far ahead into the future of what God has in store for him.
See, I’ve been thinking about the life of Solomon lately, so when my daily Bible reading took me to Psalm 72 today, I was interested to see that it was inscribed “of Solomon” and was the final recorded prayer of “David, son of Jesse” (v. 20).
Solomon rose to the throne when his father David was near the end of his life. Some Bible scholars believe David may have written this psalm for Solomon’s coronation. With that in mind, I was eager to see what David might have prayed for his son.
Like any parent, David’s prayer included requests for temporal blessings—long life, favor, prosperity. But David’s longings for Solomon were more than that. He asked God to make Solomon a man of justice and righteousness, to give him a heart of compassion for the poor and oppressed, and that he would use his blessings in order to bless many others, all over the world.
With David’s example in front of me, I sensed God inviting me to pray far-reaching prayers for my son. So I grabbed my journal and did that. I wrote down a prayer for my son’s future—that he would steward well the spiritual, intellectual, and relational gifts God had entrusted to him. That God would give him His heart for the “little ones” of this world. And that He would bless my son so he can bless others.
It was good to share these desires of mine with God, and to remember that God is his Father and He longs for these same things. How about you? What kingdom-impacting prayers are you praying for your children?