Heavenly Father,
I thank you for every family in Kidzone. I thank you that these families want to grow closer to you. I ask that every individual represented in Kidzone would know your voice with clarity, desire to obey it and obey it in the power of your Spirit. I pray that we would all be awakened to your work and power so that our faith can grow.
God, I know that I (wrongfully) desire to control and manage ...things like schedules, and even sometimes the people around me... so I ask that sin management would not become the goal for me, or FCC parents. Rather, I pray that we would desire to facilitate safe spaces where sin can come out, not to be applauded or accepted, but to be removed for transformation.
I pray for the parents and grandparents in the lives of FCC children - that the roles as spiritual leaders would be taken seriously. I pray for the fathers and mothers who are working to pass on their faith to their children, through words and example. As they posture their heart in dependence to you, God, I pray that they would be blessed with wisdom and creativity and that the hearts of the children would recognize you, God, shining through. I pray that parents would nurture and train their children's souls the same way they care for their children's physical, mental and emotional needs.
I pray for the childrens' roles in responding and contributing to the spiritual tone of the home. As they learn and grow and wrestle with faith concepts, God I thank you that you meet them where they are at. Father, for those children who are currently walking faith-growing-pains, I ask for wisdom for parents in navigating their responses and questions. For those children who haven't yet committed their life to you, I ask for your continued wooing of their hearts. For kids who are actively following you, Lord I ask that you would empower them to be great witnesses in their spheres of influence. For all the kids, God I ask that they would draw them closer to you, seek you passionately, and grow in their knowledge of and relationship with you.
I pray for the visitors and guests that parents and children welcome into their homes. I pray that the spiritual environment of their homes would resonate in the hearts of their guests, and that heartstrings would be tapped just by being in such a positive environment. And as we know, your real home is in our hearts, and so as families leave their houses, would their hearts hold the same hospitality that they exhibit in their homes -traveling as beacons of hope and rooting as havens of emotional and spiritual safety.
And I pray that you, God, would enable me to support these families in their role as the primary spiritual caregivers. I pray for a unity in purpose between their roles in the home and mine in the church as we seek to facilitate environments where your relationship with these children can grow. We want to cooperate with your work in their lives; help us to discern where your Spirit is blowing so we can hoist the sails of our hearts and cooperate with you.
Family temperatures can change dramatically. Lord I ask that you would empower the parents of FCC to be running their homes as thermostats - setting the spiritual tone, rather than being thermometers and just matching the various climates each individual brings in. I pray these things in Jesus' name, and for the glory of that name. Amen
