EP 45: Our Best Parenting is Done by Prayer

God’s Word reminds us: I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. ~ John 15:5 “apart from me you can do nothing” is a continual reminder that I am utterly dependent on the Lord to do anything. There are many things I can do without dependence on Christ, but the reality is I have achieved “nothing” in God’s sight. This is so true in the raising of our children. Our children are a gift from the Lord, a heritage, a reward (Psalm 127:3) and they are ever so precious to the Lord and us.  Caring for our children is an immeasurable responsibility but one as believers we are not left alone in or to fend for ourselves.  We can cry out to the One who created all things and is the only One who can redeem them. I have learned over the years that I am helplessly dependent on the Lord. I can’t parent on my own. I can’t do anything on my own. As parents, we can’t change the hearts of our children. Only the Lord can change their hearts. This truth should continually bring us to our knees in prayer, but many times we find ourselves thinking we can do this on our own. As a parent of now adult children, I can share that these are the more difficult years of life as the decisions and the difficulties they face are much more challenging than when they were young. Show Notes: “It didn’t take me long to realize that I did my best parenting by prayer. I began to speak less to the kids and more to God. It was actually quite relaxing.”  ~ Paul Miller, A Praying Life God does a much better job of being God than I do. Children are fully dependent on parents for everything. As we get older, we become more and more independent. We need to be reminded to go back to living as dependent children. Living as a dependent child to the Lord in the everyday moments of life is the best example we can give to our children. Resources: Homemaking Matters: Living for God's Glory in the Ordinary Thankful Homemaker Blog Free Resource Library For the rest of the show notes and resources mentioned visit Thankful Homemaker Follow ThankfulHomemaker on Facebook, Pinterest & Instagram