Prayer is what gets us close to the heart of God as we shepherd our children's hearts. After more than 20 years of legitimately seeking the Lord, 18 years of parenting, and thousands of prayers, I have realized three fundamental things:

1.There is no manipulation in prayer. We cannot compel the Lord to do anything for us through prayer.

2.There is great mystery in prayer. Sometimes our prayers are answered in a way that there is no human explanation for it.

3.There is spiritual movement in prayer. I have seen the Lord move in hearts when the outside seems totally hard. We cannot change a child's heart, but we can try to shepherd it. So, whenever you feel overburdened and powerless, needing to pray, but at a loss for words, here are four prayers from scripture that you can pray for your family members:

Ephesians 1:15-23 ESV

Ephesians 3:14-21 ESV

Philippians 1:3-11 ESV

Colossians 1:9-14 ESV

191: The Heavy Lifting of Prayer