Jenifer Metzger : Praying the Fruits of the Spirit Over Your Kids

For awhile now my son and I have been butting heads. If I'd say the sun was out, he'd say the moon was out. Yes, that bad. Can you relate? I prayed about our relationship pretty regularly, yet it seemed as though it was only getting worse. A couple of months ago I felt God telling me to pray the Fruits of the Spirit over my son. So I did. Once.

Then the enemy crept in and started whispering to me that it wasn't going to work. That our relationship would continue to worsen. That my son hated me. That he didn't need me. That one day he'd move out and I'd lose him for good. That I wouldn't see him as an adult man. That I wouldn't see my grandchildren. That I wouldn't see him serving the Lord because he wouldn't be. Oh that enemy. He's something else, isn't he?

His evil lies gripped my heart and had me in a panic. I tried praying for my son and for our relationship, yet the words wouldn't come. This fear, along with the fear of my daughter's medical test (to read about that, click HERE) had me paralyzed. I could pray for anyone and anything, except these needs. Then finally, finally, the dam was broken and the words rushed from me. I begged God to touch my relationship with my son, to touch my son.

I remembered that He had recently told me to pray the Fruits of the Spirit over my son. Now that fear was gone and the words would come, I did. Every. Single. Day. Did I see immediate results? Mercy no. As a matter of fact, the two days following the breakthrough were the worst ever. But, I wasn't afraid. I knew God had this in His hands.

Our relationship will take time to fully heal. But every day I see something. A glimpse of healing. A glimpse of a teenage boy who still loves his mama. I hold tight to these glimpses and I continue to pray the Fruits of the Spirit over my son, over all of my children.

Praying the Fruits of the Spirit over our children:

Love. God, let my children experience Your love in a deep way. In turn, let them overflow with Your love and show true love to others around them - family, friends, and strangers. Help them to love, even when it's hard.
Joy. Father, give my children joy. Joy in knowing that You are God and You are in control. Even when things are hard and life tries to drag them down, and happiness seems far away, let them experience real joy in You.
Peace. Father, give my children peace. Peace that passes all understanding. Peace when heartache comes, peace when anxiousness creeps in, peace in difficult times. Let them feel Your peace in their heart and spirit.
Patience. Give my children patience. In this fast paced world that falsely tells us we never have to wait, help them to be patient. Patient in waiting, patient with others around them and patient as they grow up and learning new things.
Kindness. Help my children to be kind. That they would show kindness to others around them in all circumstances. This world is full of unkind people. Let my children show kindness even to the unkind.
Goodness. Help my children to be overall good people. That they would obey those in authority over them, follow the law, obey the Word of God and respect others.
Faithfulness. Help my children to be faithful. Faithful to You Father, faithful to their family, faithful in their prayer and Bible reading, faithful in their school work, faithful in their jobs and house chores, and faithful to their friends.
Gentleness. Help my children to be gentle. That their touch, attitude, words and tone of voice would be gentle to everyone.
Self-control. Help my children to have control over their actions, attitudes and words. When they are tempted to do wrong, help them to seek You.
All fruits. Saturate my children with these 9 fruits. Let them be full and overflowing with Your fruits. The Bible says they will know you by the fruits. Let my children have the fruits of the Spirit evident in their lives. Let them live out the fruits in all they say and do, while out and while at home.

If you are struggling with a difficult child or going through a rough parenting patch, believe me, we have all been there and you are not alone. Begin praying the Fruits of the Spirit over your child. Pray this every single day and watch God work. If you are not currently going through a rough parenting patch and your children are easy to handle, praise God! Yet, pray these prayers anyway. We are our children's prayer warriors. We need to cover them in prayer every day and these 9 fruits are a great way to pray.

What would you add to these prayers? How can I pray for your child?