The Spirit Gives Life: Persevering in Prayer for Our Children (2 Corinthians 3:5-12)
The Spirit Gives Life
Persevering in Prayer for Our Children
Never never let us forget that children for whom many prayers have been offered seldom finally perish…such prayers are heard on high. Such prayers will often bring down blessings…Let us pray more for our sons and daughters.
J.C.Ryle
Perhaps the greatest longing of the heart of a Christian mother is that her children will one day walk with her in eternity alongside our Savior. Phil Wickham recently released a new song Homesick for Heaven and in it he sings, “I want to see my children run to Your arms,” and as a mother it resonates deeply with me. We have been made sharers in the inheritance of the saints in light. And having tasted such sweet communion and joy with our Savior, we plead with the Lord that our children too would be made sharers of this joy. Our hearts ache and yearn for an eternity of everlasting joy and delight shared with our children in the presence of our Savior.
In 2 Corinthians 3, Paul desires to show the Corinthians the glory and magnificence of the new covenant that the Lord has brought them into through the redemption they have in Christ. He even goes so far as to call the old covenant, the ministry of death (2 Cor. 3:7). Paul isn’t trying to talk poorly of the old covenant, but “one light bulb on its own looks bright, but set beside stadium floodlights, it is completely overwhelmed” (Miller). The old covenant given through Moses, written on tablets of stone, was glorious, but now compared to the new covenant in Christ, it is merely a light bulb’s brightness in comparison to stadium floodlights. It shines, but is completely overwhelmed by the greater glory of this new covenant. This new covenant, Paul says, is through the Spirit that gives life, it is a ministry of righteousness rather than condemnation, it is written on hearts instead of tablets of stone, it is a covenant that remains forever rather than passing away (2 Cor. 3:7-11). While that which was given through Moses was a tutor to lead us to Christ, we now have Christ and the great blessings of forgiveness, redemption, reconciliation, and so much more. As a mom, I want all those things for each one of my children. And Paul says having such a hope means we can use great boldness in our speech (2 Cor. 3:12). We can speak boldly to both our children and the Lord. We speak to our kids about the Lord and to the Lord about our kids. We teach them the ways of the Lord and encourage them in the truth, and we plead with the Lord to do His work through His word.
Further in 2 Corinthians 3, Paul says that where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. I pray for life, righteousness, a transformed heart, freedom, and everlasting hope for my children. “God changes people permanently through the gospel. This is how he works. This is the new-covenant ministry to which God has called us” (Miller). Is praying perseveringly for our loved ones the point of this passage? No. But when we are confronted with the reality of the power of God to transform hearts and bring life and righteousness, one response will be to beseech Him to bring that transformation to the hearts of those we love. He is the Lord of life and gives it by His Spirit through the word of truth. He alone can deliver them from the domain of darkness and transfer them to the kingdom of His beloved Son (Col. 1:13). He alone can reconcile them to Himself, and so should we not come before the King and, as the widow kept bothering the unjust judge to give her justice (Luke 18:1-8), entreat our Father to rescue our children from the domain of darkness? This is the ministry we have been given by God when He gave us our children.
We plant. We water. But it is God who must give the increase and bear the fruit of His Word in their lives. But knowing the power of His Spirit and the transformative effect He enables, we speak boldly to our children about the truth of the Lord. We pray. We seek opportunities. We invest in the relationship. We do the ministry that godly mothering requires, and in it all we look to the Lord to capture their hearts and produce lasting, indeed eternal, change.
Lord, it is Your Spirit that gives life to dead hearts. It is only You who can deliver my children from the domain of darkness and transfer them to the kingdom of Your Beloved Son. My hearts aches with the desire to see my children saved and walking with You. Your Spirit can cause them to be born again to a living hope, and You have said that Your children will have Your law written on their hearts and in their minds. Write Your Word on the hearts and minds of my children. Transform them by Your power. Give them the righteousness of Christ, forgiveness in Him, and reconciliation with You. Give us boldness and perseverance to continue to speak Your truth to them and to cry out to You for their souls. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Comments