Day 22: Destroying an Inheritance of Family Bondage

If anyone is in Christ,

he is a new creation;

old things have passed away:

behold, all things have become new.

- II Corinthians 5:17

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Lord, You have said in Your Word that a good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children (Proverbs 13:22). I pray that the inheritance I leave to my children will be the rewards of a godly life and a clean heart before You. To make sure that happens, I ask that wherever there is a sinful trait in me that I have acquired from my family, deliver me from it now in the name of Jesus. I confess my sins to You. I ask for forgiveness and restoration, knowing Your Word says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (I John 1:9). I know that cleansing from sin through confession lessens the possibility of passing the habit of sin on to my child.
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Jesus said, "I give you the authority... over all the powers of the enemy" (Luke 10:19). If there is any work of the enemy in my past that seeks to encroach upon the lives of my children, I break it now by the power and authority given me in Jesus Christ. I pray specifically for the lack of desire to attend church (name something you see in yourself or your family that you don't want passed to your child). Whatever is not Your will for our lives, I reject as sin.
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Thank You, Jesus, that You came to set us free from the past. We refuse to live bound by it. Thank You, Father, that You have "qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light" (Colossians 1:12). I pray that my son and daughter will not inherit any sin trait from their earthly family, but will "inherit the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world" (Matthew 25:34). Thank You, Jesus, that in You the old has passed away and all things are new. In Jesus' name, Amen.*
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Stand fast therefore in the liberty
by which Christ has made us free,
and do not be entangled again
with a yoke of bondage.
- Galatians 5:1

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** Please pray for the Fry family today. At 2pm they will be having the funeral for their 22 year old son who died in a motorcycle accident on Sunday. Mr. Fry is a pastor in my home town. Aaron was a senior at Abilene Christian University and left behind Mom, Dad and one sister, Brittany (who attended the birth of my first child). **
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*Make this prayer your own! From the book, The Power of a Praying Parent. Ordering information is at the bottom of the page.

Day Two: Releasing My Child into God's Hands

For this child I prayed,

and the Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of Him.

Therefore I also have lent him to the Lord;

as long as he lives he shall be lent to the Lord.
- I Samuel 1:27-29

Lord, I come to You in Jesus' name and give David & Elizabeth to You. I am convinced that You alone know what is best for them. You alone know what they need. I release them to You to care for and protect, and I commit myself to pray for everything concerning them that I can think of or that You put upon my heart. Teach me how to pray and guide me in what to pray about. Help me not to impose my own will when I'm praying for them, but rather enable me to pray that Your will be done in their lives.

Thank You that I can partner with You in raising David & Elizabeth, and that I don't have to do it alone. I'm grateful that I don't have to rely on the world's unreliable and ever-changing methods for child rearing, but that I can have clear directions from Your Word and wisdom as I pray to You for answers.

Thank You, Lord, for the precious gift of these children. Your Word says that every good gift comes from You, and I know that You have given them to me to care for and to raise. Help me to do that. Show me places where I continue to hang onto them and enable me to release them to Your protection, guidance and counsel. Help me to to live in fear of possible dangers, but in the joy and peace of knowing that You are in control. I rely on You for everything, and this day I trust my children to You and release them into Your hands.*

For you shall go out with joy,

and be led out with peace;

the mountains and the hills shall break forth

into singing before you.

- Isaiah 55:12

They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth children for trouble;

for they shall be descendants of the blessed of the Lord

and their offspring with them.

- Isaiah 65:23

*Make this prayer your own. From the book, The Power of a Praying Parent, by Stormie Omartian. Ordering information is at the bottom of the page.