Identity in Christ – A Prayer for My Child

It was as if there were a magnet. Appropriate versus inappropriate. Two options to choose from. We would hope for at least a 50/50 chance, right? But, somehow, the might of that magnet would win at least 95% of the time. It would pull her to the inappropriate.

Her draw to this inappropriateness was beyond my comprehension. It gained her nothing. It never quite panned out for her and just brought so much negativity down around her little shoulders.  But it had to do with power and it had to do with identity.

I consistently prayed for God to give me the ability to see our daughter’s behaviors through His eyes. And He did. He allowed me to see that her identity was directly tied to the injustices that had been heaved upon an innocent child. The horrors of her short little life left her unable to recognize good, but rather clinging to negative.

She didn’t understand how marvelously she had been created.

She couldn’t comprehend being His workmanship (Ephesians 2:10).

Her soul didn’t acknowledge how greatly loved (Romans 1:7; Ephesians 2:4; Colossians 3:12; 1 Thessalonians 1:4) she was.

And she could not fathom that instead of being defined by the horrors of her past, she was now a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).

So in the middle of the night as I would tiptoe in and seize that rare moment to watch her sleeping peacefully, I would pray…

Dear Jesus,

I rest my eyes upon this child You have given me to parent. As I see ____________(child’s name)  laying sweetly on his/her pillow tonight, I see a wonderful creation that You have designed with love and attention. But, Lord, this precious creation of Yours does recognize that about himself/herself.

So, Lord, tonight I come to You boldly requesting Your Holy presence to take root deep in __________’s soul giving him/her a clear and accurate vision of who he/she is in You. Father, I pray that ___________ releases the injustices of his/her past, no longer allowing those circumstances to define who he/she is. But rather, that ______________ see that he/she is a child of Yours (Galatians 3:26) and that she is a brand new creation in You! (2 Corinthians 5:17). 

As each day passes and __________ is faced with choices and options, Lord, I pray for ___________ to connect with who You have made him/her to be and out of the overflow of his/her heart he/she is able to choose that which is of You. I pray for a natural repulsion to the things that are not of You. That instead of disobedience, he/she craves obedience. A desire for untruths is replaced with a desire for truth. An identification with aggression is exchanged for gentleness…dysregulation for self-control…anger for peace… grief for joy…

Your Word says, “God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through? (Numbers 23:19) I claim Your promises for ___________ and believe with all my heart and soul in the truth of Your Word and Your Promises. I believe in the work You will do inside my child. I praise You in advance for “giving _________ a beautiful crown in exchange for ashes, for anointing __________ with gladness instead of sorrow, for wrapping ________ in victory, joy, and praise instead of depression and sadness. People will call ________ magnificent, like great towering trees standing for what is right. ________ will stand to the glory of the Eternal who planted him/her.” –Isaiah 61:3

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Time has passed and we do have a little girl who has begun to enjoy the positive. The pull of that inappropriate magnet does not have the strength it once did. Three years into this, we see progress. We see an identity rooted in Christ beginning to sprout. We believe the day will come when our daughter’s story will read differently. There will still be a magnetic draw in her life that will seem to have that 95% pull…

But it will be a draw to all things good.

95% appropriate and

5% inappropriate!

Last week I focused on a prayer for fear. If interested, you can find it here.

Blessings and smiles,

Lori