March 8 - I'm convinced it's never too soon to start praying for a child to feel loved and accepted--first by God, then by family, then by peers and others.

Jeremiah 1:5 says, "BEFORE I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I SANCTIFIED thee, and ordained the a prophet unto the nations." The word SANCTIFIED means " to set apart as sacred, consecrate, dedicate". So before our children were formed/conceived God set them apart, consecrated and dedicated them. WE MUST PRAY OVER THAT!!! I have not always prayed over my children from the womb, BUT I have always made sure that they knew about God and WE went to church...I didn't send them to church. And let me add this; just as it's never too soon...it's never too late to pray either!

Father, thank You for Your Word and for Your promises! We are just vessels by which our children are delivered to this world, but they belong to You. Before our children were formed You knew them, now that they're here You see all that they encounter, You know how much they can endure and You care for them...we ask that You keep being God in their lives, no matter what! In Jesus name, Amen!

June 2 - He has prepared some things for you!

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.  (1 Corinthians 2:9 KJV)

The word "prepared" means "to have ordained; of blessings".  So there are ordained blessings that have not been seen, heard or even thought of, that God has for us and our children.  No wonder the enemy is constantly trying to distract us and tempt us with sin...it's hard to receive a blessing while in the midst of sin.  However, I believe that the blessed thing about an "ordained blessing", is that its' been predestined by God and in His sovereignty He can still bestow the blessing on us...even if we have not "lived up to it".  Now that is not a license to sin, as the bible says; "What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid."  (Romans 6:15) 

Nevertheless, the best way to ensure that we receive what God has prepared, is to be prepared ourselves.  One of my favorite male vocalists has a song called "He's Preparing Me".  In the song, Daryl Coley delivers an "explanation" for some of the things we encounter in our lives as believers, i.e. maturing, arranging, rearranging, training, tuning, purging and pruning as "preparation".  God is getting us ready for the next level in our lives...for what He has prepared.  If we're not prepared; we can easily abuse, misuse and as crazy as it sounds, refuse the blessing...all because we weren't ready for what was waiting on us!   A perfect example is the single person who claims to want a spouse, but has not addressed his/her trust issues; his/her bad credit; his/her selfishness; his/her own insecurities.  Now why would God give the person He has prepared to the unprepared person?!?  #ItJustGotReal

Lord, we pray that we will submit to the process of preparation for each and everything You have ordained for us.  Help us to lead by example so that our children will also embrace preparation as the process of getting to the next level.  And Lord, even if the preparation is not for the next level, but more so to be effective for the battle that's at hand; let us understand the strategy of preparation is necessary in order for us not to have so much to do later.  Preparation is necessary so that we may enjoy the blessing.  Thank you for what You have prepared and for taking the time to prepare us to receive.  In Jesus name, Amen!

He's Preparing Me!
http://youtu.be/4WcwZO9htds