Prayer For Money To Support My Children

This Simple Practice Teaches Kids Gratitude

Prayer. It’s a word that can be divisive, but it doesn’t need to be. Most of us, regardless of our approach to religion, have bowed our heads, closed our eyes, and said thanks or petitioned for help at one point or another in our lives.

As a child, my mom would pray for my brother and me on our way to school. She’d ask us to bow our heads and close our eyes in the car as she would say a prayer for protection for our day. Before going to bed, she would say another prayer for us as we went to sleep.

 My brother and I went to a private, Christian school, but we rarely attended church. I’m not sure why my mom prayed for us. Her father is agnostic, and her parents did not practice any organized religion. But I always found prayers comforting — both hers and, later, my own.

I d knowing that I could go to someone other than my mom for answers and the help that she wasn’t able to provide.

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Setting aside the question of whether or not prayer “works,” I’ve found that prayer can change my own experience of the world. As a father, I want my kids to have that experience of calling out to someone, or something, beyond the realm of human influence when they feel challenged, or grateful, or afraid. Here’s why prayer matters to me and what I hope my children receive from it:

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Prayer Makes Us Humble

I’ve often felt that people’s relatability is tied to their level of humility. An act of humility can open up doors that are closed, squash arguments, heal families, and help leaders lead. There’s nothing more disheartening that seeing a person who is full of themselves.

For me, prayer is an act of humility. Helping my children learn that there is nothing wrong with acknowledging that something is greater than themselves is tantamount to teaching them that they are not the center of the universe, even if they think they are.

Prayer Teaches Respect

There’s a great commercial where a little girl is opening the fridge to get a yogurt when her dad tries to stop her. She tells him that mom said she could get a midnight snack, to which her father says that it’s late and that she needs to go to bed.

“Why?” she asks.

In his authority, he says, “Because I’m the boss.”

To which the little girl responds, in utter incredulousness, “You’re not the boss. Mom’s the boss.”

We pan to the father’s face as he’s trying to think of a response. “Technically, we’re both bosses.”

But the little girl knows the truth and says, “Technically, mom’s the boss.”

The commercial ends with both of them eating a midnight snack.

In every facet of my life and in theirs, there are authority figures that we need to respect. Through the act of prayer, I want my children to learn that, just in the physical realm where there are authority figures, so there is in the spiritual world — whether you believe that’s God or another Higher Power — and ultimately, we’re accountable to someone other than ourselves.

Prayer Helps Us Develop Gratitude

Most mornings, my wife calls me at work so I can pray for our kids on their way to school. I encourage them to be thankful for the gifts they’ve been given, such as the house they live in, the clothes they wear, the food they eat, their able bodies, and all the other things we tend to take for granted.

What I noticed is that even if they’ve been fighting with one another or have been in a bad mood, stopping to pray and give “thanks” causes them to have a sense of gratitude, which is a key component to life. As a father, I want my children to express gratitude for what they’ve received and, more importantly, to have the feeling that their life is full.

Prayer Strengthens Trust

Faith is simply trust or confidence in someone or something. Every day, each of us practices faith in one form or another.

We have faith that the person driving in the next lane over will not swerve into our lane. We have faith that our spouse will honor their commitment to us.

 I want my children’s faith to serve as an anchor when the world rocks their lives. Through prayer, the development of their faith can occur and grow.

Prayer Makes Us Closer

I don’t have all the answers to life’s mysteries, but I do know that when people pray together, a bond is created, especially between a parent and a child.

Praying is a time for us to be open with one another about what’s bothering us, to give thanks or make special petitions, and to create special moments.

Through prayer, my children and I are deepening our relationship while creating a bond that will last long after I’m gone. Just when my mom would pray for my brother and me, I hope that my kids will do wise with their children.

Zachery Román is a speechwriter and freelance journalist based in Los Angeles. He’s also the father of two daughters who is always seeking opportunities to help fathers connect with their children.

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A Prayer for Our Children’s Teachers

It’s that magical time of year again. Shopping carts are filled with endless reams of paper, composition books, glue sticks, and pencils. Big yellow buses are cruising the neighborhood during this season when sneakers are still clean and backpack zippers actually work.

Once again, we send our kiddos out into the great wide world to learn and grow. We’ve spent the summer strengthening their spiritual and familial roots and having all manner of togetherness and now it’s time to let them stretch their wings.

Along with the growing and stretching our kids will face, we moms have to stretch a bit, too.

We are given a chance to trust in God and share the responsibility of shaping the minds and hearts of our greatest treasures with people we may or may not know personally.

Sounds a bit daunting, doesn’t it? Even for us “experienced” mamas (those of us who’ve boarded the bus a time or two, you might say), new school years bring new challenges. And entrusting our children to veritable strangers isn’t the least on the list.

New adults in their lives

Classroom teachers, catechists, librarians, coaches, music directors, dance teachers, and scout leaders. School administrators, cafeteria workers, nurses, crossing guards, and maintenance staff.

Day care providers, extended day teachers, and club moderators. These are just some of the people our children will interact with during their school year.

Some of them we select, but many are already part of their school community.

How can we best support the men and women who dedicate so much of their time and talents to our precious children?

The answer is, fellow mamas, we pray.

Love the children first

Way back, many moons and three children ago, I was a fourth-grade classroom teacher at a small Catholic school in Tucson. For the four and a half years I taught there, I had a small card with my favorite quote from Saint Mother Theodore Guerin that I kept displayed right by my plan book:

Love the children first, and then teach them.

I really think that is the ultimate, possibly unspoken, goal of all of these various teachers our kids will encounter. Rare (and probably seriously confused) is the person who gets into any form of teaching or coaching or administration for the glory of it. No, they teach because they have a passion for their subject matter, want to contribute to society, and basically love children!

Let’s pray that their sights remain true to that ultimate goal for the good of our kids and to the glory of God!

As numerous as the stars in the sky

Let’s switch perspective for a quick second, shall we? We’ve been thinking of the many kinds of teachers that will be influencing our kids this school year, but we might also want to consider just how many different kinds of kids these awesome human beings will be responsible for!

Just as God promised Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the heavens (Genesis 26:4), He could make the same promise to teachers. He will give them students as numerous as the crayons at the office supply store and they’ll be every bit as varied.

Teachers want to do their very best for each and every child. They desire to meet every need, fill every gap, and boost every ego. What one child lacks, another has in aces.

Some children are open while others may more slow to warm up.

Let’s pray that God will open the hearts of all teachers this year; that they will see not only the sweet faces of our kids, but the Light of Christ that burns inside each of them. May they recognize that light and use it as a guide to provide for their individual needs as well as for those of the group as a whole.

A mother’s prayer for teachers

Dear Lord,

Thank you for the gift of good teachers. Thank You for men and women willing to take on the responsibility of shaping the next generation of thinkers and doers.

As the school year starts, grant them strength and courage to face what lies ahead.

Spark their imaginations with ways to reach even the most difficult learner.

When the days are long and the challenges seem too many, grant them peace.

When things go smoothly, let them see Your guiding hand and give You thanks.

When they’re spending their money to make my child’s learning environment more successful and enjoyable, grant them treasures in Heaven.

Please, Lord, give them the grace they need to see You in every preschooler, grade schooler and high-schooler.

Help them respond to the individual needs of each child to the best of their ability.

Protect them from harm, but make them brave and knowledgeable in times of crisis.

May they find strength for the journey in each smile, hug, high five, and newly learned skill.

I know that their job is often a thankless and incredibly demanding one. Help me to support them the best that I can so that my child will know how much I value his/her education and the hard work of others.

And at the end of each day, may they find rest and replenishment to rise and do it all again tomorrow.

Saint Mother Theodore Guerin, pray for them.

Saint Jean Baptist de la Salle, patron of teachers, pray for them.

In Our Lord Jesus’ name,

Amen.

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Written by Beth Williby. Find out more about her here.

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Источник: //blessedisshe.net/the-blog/a-prayer-for-our-childrens-teachers/