Pauls’ Pattern for Prayer

Parents love their children. When we pray do we pray the best for them or just temporary relief?

We can produce a laundry list of externals to pray for such as finances, protection, healing and help.

But somehow, the list doesn't really express it. Jesus' heart for His people runs much deeper than material and emotional needs, and it's His heart that we want to touch and reflect as we pray.

What does God want for your children.? Begin to study the prayers of Paul and see.

In Ephesians 3:14-16, Paul began one of his most beautiful prayers. "For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man."

My prayer so often begins with externals. I bow my knees unto the Father and ask Him to grant a host of material and circumstantial needs. Since we live so close with our children, we know the nitty-gritty of their lives, and that's where our focus tends to go.

But Paul didn't have this luxury. He was separated from his churches by a great distance. He didn't know their day-to-day problems, so his prayers had to reach much farther — much deeper — much higher. God, I think, arranged it this way.

Paul's prayers teach us to focus first on the heart: the soul, the "inner man." Let’s not focus primarily on the physical things or changes in circumstance. Our children need mighty hearts. When we're strong inside, we can handle great trials. When the glory of God fills us, its joy and beauty will spill over to meet the difficulties in our paths. That friend struggling with temptation; that sister who has cancer; that young man taking exams: what they need most is to be strengthened with true might, by the Spirit of God, in the deepest places of their hearts.

Count or Write Your Blessings

The last 2 months of every year fly by the fastest. The month between Thanksgiving and Christmas is a blur. Now is a time to pause, reflect and rejoice in thanksgiving.


We used to drive to Houston from Slidell 3-4 times every year when our children were all much younger. It is nearly impossible to get together now. The last time was Katrina evacuation. The trip from our house to grandparents’ was 365 miles. Before Gameboy, Iphone, Ipod or any electronic babysitters came out, we had to either play cassette tapes (kids ask your parents what those are) or try to pickup both radio stations between Baton Rouge and Beaumont. These stations played both kinds of music…country and western.


The challenge was how to keep the children from being bored.


Know what one of our favorite games was? The I Thank God game. It goes like this.


The first person says, “I thank God for…” and then fills in the blank. Now keep in mind the ages of our kids ranged from 2 to 10 during some of those trips. They thanked God for the seat belts, the drive through at McDonalds, puppies etc. Regardless, it was cute and from the heart


One time as a family goal, my wife wrote down what everyone said to see if we could reach a hundred. We made it in short time.


Childish? You know it! But Jesus said if we do not receive the kingdom of God like a little child we will not enter it (Luke 18:17). I look back on those times and realize we were as near the heart of God as a family as we have ever been. We were in kingdom time.


This Thanksgiving, put a note on the fridge with a magnet and a pencil and number the page 1-100. As family or friends walk by, have them fill in the blanks. You will be thankful you did!

Miracle Healing with Dads

I have noticed something as Executive Director of Open Arms Child Development Center.

When children come in with Mom, their legs don’t work. They have to be carried.  When they come in with Dad, they get healed! No kidding.  Kids are almost always carried in by Mom and seldom by Dad.

What can we learn from this?

• Moms have a hard time with “their baby” getting older…Dads are getting them in shape for yard work & taking the trash out.
• Moms tend to coddle…Dads tend to command.
• Moms can carry  a child, 3 bags draped over her arms and a car seat and all supplies…Dads have a good day if they don’t leave their kids somewhere!

What’s the real lesson?  Children need the balance of Mom and Dad both.

I look at parenting as being two banks of a river.  With two firm banks a rive has direction, flow and stays clean.
Without banks a river becomes a stagnant swamp…yucky, smelly and dead.

Parents…be the banks (limits, direction, security) your child needs.

Bye to and Faithful and Helpful Friend!!!

After nearly 13 years, we said goodbye to a family friend today. It was our 1996 Chevy Suburban.

Big Red had served us faithfully through the most important years of our children growing up. When we first got the vehicle, our children were 9,5,3 and 1. They are now 22, 20,18 and 14!

That Fire Truck Red Suburban has taken us on trips to Disneyworld, mission trips to Minnesota and even to officiate a memorial service for a young woman struck down in her youth in Jacksonville, FL.

Big Red was our carriage during Katrina and our refuge during Rita.

Big Red made long trips such as to North Carolina for a wedding and fun return trip on way back through Chattanooga.

This morning, we were having another car picked up by AAA towing. The driver asked about buying the car he was towing. I told him it was a recent purchase, but the Suburban in the back driveway was for sale.

Now, Big Red did not look like much. It had a hood that bulged up from two different accidents our son had in it. One of its' headlights drooped like a stroke victim who had lost control of his facial muscles. It's back door on the driver's side has been dented for three years. I did not get it fixed for two reasons. To get it fixed would have been more expensive than the car was worth and the dent was a reminder of a time when Big Red saved my son's life in an accident. Big Red was a great protective device.

Who cares about gas mileage when the vehicle can extend your life expectancy!

The tow truck driver asked could he drive Big Red around the block and I agreed. He returned 5 minutes later with excitement and hope. He got his wife and 2 year old daughter out of the cab of his tow truck. You see, they owned no personal family vehicle. Anywhere they had to go, the store, to see family or to work was in that tow truck.

Sometimes the wife had to walked 1 1/2miles to work if her husband was out on a tow job. Same thing at night if he was not around or she had to keep calling to try to get a ride home.

They asked the price and I told them. They were going to ask for a loan from his boss but, we worked out a better deal. God told us to drop the price considerably.

Big Red is now in the hands of a family that does not care about AC, paint and body work. They drove from the title transfer office like they had won a major prize. It was a chance to be blessed as we blessed them.

We wept for joy as they drove out of sight.

The man and his wife asked us why we came off the price so much and we told them God told us to. I hope that a seed of faith has been sown in the hearts of this precious, needy and struggling family. My prayer is that someday, they will tell their little girl about how they went to rescue someone and God showed up to their rescue!

May God bless them with Big Red as he did us for over a decade.