2. Pray that your child will learn to know their God, the true and living God, and will have a deep desire to do God’s will for their lives.

Psalm 119:34-35: Give me understanding, so that I may keep your law and obey it with all my heart. Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight.

Flicking through the paper one summer's afternoon in a rare moment of quiet (thanks unashamedly to the CBeebies app) I discovered that it costs on average close to £2000 to entertain a child in London over the Summer holidays. I have 3 children and live, not in London but in a city nearly as expensive and with an equally driven and high-achieving population. Did this mean it was going cost me £6000 to keep them happy and occupied over the next six weeks? I could see how it could add up, what with swimming camp, tennis camp, trips to interesting places, drama camp, ice-creams, music camp, computer camp, boat trips, gym workshops, dance workshops etc etc etc. Summer costs have overtaken Christmas costs, according to the survey, as we cram our children's idle summer days with activity and life enhancing experiences.

Much of this is good and well-intentioned, and for some an essential solution to the summer childcare conundrum. But for me it also says something about our priorities for our children. When I moved from Cornwall to Cambridge I had some big idol issues to deal with. I used to think our week was plenty full and life enhancing if we went to the local toddler group and bible study, and then filled the rest of the time with trips to the beach or walks through the woods. Now my 1 year old goes to gymnastics and my 3 year old has piano lessons (well she has had two... her hands are way too small, obviously). Despite my best intentions I have fully (and literally) bought in to the prevailing culture that tells me my children will be happy if they are busy with activities and that they need to start young or they will fall behind. Education is everything. If we don't give them the best start we are doing them a disservice and they will blame us for it later in life.

Again, much of this is well meant and much is good, but the bible gives us a vision for our children that is much bigger, richer, longer lasting and more soul-satisfying than the most jam-packed summer could ever offer. The bible speaks of much more than simple happiness, of a goal-oriented, pleasure seeking, accomplishment driven existence. The bible speaks of true delight, the kind of delight that comes from knowing who we are and what we were made for, of knowing our Father and keeping his commands because that is the best way to live.

So if my priorities for my children are all about what they can do or achieve or experience then I am offering them much too small a vision of what life fully lived is meant to be. My heart longing should be for their increased knowledge and understanding of the true and living God; their father and maker and saviour and friend, who will walk with them throughout their lives, who has planned each step for them and knows far better than I do what is best for them.

So let us pray they become wise not wealthy, because true wisdom, God-wisdom is the path into true delight.

Let us pray for a real understanding of God's character, that leads to deep satisfaction in following his good commands, and that our own idols would not stand in the way of their walk with him.

Let us pray for big vision for our small people, that they will be more than happy and successful and popular and beautiful; that rather they will be people who chase after the knowledge of God that leads to righteousness, people that stand for truth and justice and peace and goodness. People who have a deep desire to do God's will in his world and follow his ways all the days of their lives.

It is a prayer to be prayed with caution. Who knows where God will lead those who seek after him with all their hearts? It may not lead to the life of comfort and ease and safety that we would hope for our children, and so I pray it with a trembling heart; but I pray it before a God who loves my children even more than I do, and who has much better plans for them than I could imagine. I pray it knowing in my heart that the safest place to be is in Christ, even when that takes them down thorny paths, and that to offer a vision of anything less is to offer them a shadow of the full life that is available to them.

If you would like to explore ways in which you can pray for your own children, or children you know and love, there's a guide on our 'Resources' page to help you get started.

Twelve things to pray for your children: 2

Claire Widdows

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