A Prayer For My Son
Today is my son's first birthday. A few months ago, he was baptized in our church, which practices infant baptism. One of the traditions I love in our church is that the parents are asked to write and pray a blessing over their baby. Here is the blessing I wrote, my on-going prayer for my son.
A, our little man, you are an incredible blessing to our family, with your happy, easy-going nature and your love for people. We love to watch you explore the world around you, grabbing anything you can get your hands on, wiggling all over the place, and hanging upside down.
Mommy and Daddy love you so much; your sister dotes over you, but no one loves you as much as our Heavenly Father. His love is perfect and we pray that you will grow up knowing He loves you far more deeply than you can imagine.
Oh that adorable, mischievous smile! Even at just seven months old, you think the word “no” is a hilarious joke. We’re in for an adventure. As your fun personality unfolds, we pray God grows you into a man filled with His joy, a man who loves others unreservedly, a man who honors Him.
We pray above all that you will know and love Christ with all your heart. We pray you will understand that it’s not what you do that defines who you are, but Christ alone. Do not let the standards of the culture define your manhood.
God created you carefully and He thinks you’re wonderful. We want you to know that we, and even more so, God, will always love you-and that no matter how far you go, you can always come home.
You will make mistakes. There will be times when you still think “no” is a hilarious joke. We pray that you will not hide in those moments-neither from Mommy nor Daddy, but more importantly, we pray that you will not hide from God. We pray that you will know that you are forgiven and accepted because of Christ and his work on the cross-if you put your faith in Him.
Know, little one, that you are never alone. Your Daddy and I will always be there for you to the best of our ability, but God will always be there period. Life is difficult and circumstances will not always be happy and safe, but we pray that you will know the deep joy that goes beyond happiness-the joy that is found in knowing Christ and being deeply known, and yet loved, by Him.
We acknowledge that you are not ours. You belong to the Lord and we are blessed to be entrusted with you for a little while. We ask God for wisdom to raise you well and we pray that you will grow to live a life that glorifies Him and makes Him known on this earth. We pray that you will live justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with the Lord. (Micah 6:8)
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