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My favorite part of each day is when our teenaged kids come into our room to pray before bed. They jump in—sometimes with a running start from the hall—smashing and squishing our legs to find space on our full-sized bed (yes, after 22 years of marriage we still sleep on a matchstick). We watch the news, share our opinions, they talk about their day, and then we pray.

 

Our kids never slept in our room when they were little. I love my kids, but I also love my sleep. From the time they were babies, our routine was to put them in their beds, pray over them, and shut the door so all of us could sleep. Well . . . before our sleep came, Matt and I would tiptoe to the kitchen for a bowl of ice cream, cereal, or maybe some graham crackers and milk—without the kids hearing and wanting to get up to have “just a bite.” If you have kids, you understand.

 

Of course, there were times when they were teething or sick. Maybe they had a bad dream or a bad day. Sometimes they just needed a little more time to cuddle before bed, or extra time to talk or pray. It wasn’t often, so when it happened, it was cherished. Now that the kids are older, those times are less often. And even more cherished.

 

A few weeks ago, my 17-year-old daughter had a particularly rough day. As we prayed and said our goodnights, she looked at me with tear-filled eyes and asked me to stay. I had to be up in exactly four hours for a missions trip, but I knew this was important to her. So I sat on her bed and she began to talk about what was bothering her. I discovered she was deeply hurting and as much as I wanted to, I couldn’t fix it. As a parent, we want to fix things. But when our kids are going through something difficult, I’m learning it’s an opportunity for God to work in their lives. He gets to show Himself to them.

 

I suggested we pray the alphabet. She asked what that meant, so I told her to think of words that start with the letter A and go through each letter—maybe a Bible verse, or a promise to proclaim from the Word—and we’d pray it.

 

We started going through it together.

 

  • God is Always good.  He can do Abundantly exceedingly more than we can hope. His plans for us are Amazing.
  • Lord, Bless this situation. Be here.
  • Lord, we ask for Your Comfort. Calm all of the hearts involved. Keep us in perfect peace. (We talked about it . . . that’s a K not a C. Who cares, let’s keep praying.)
  • Draw her near to You, Lord. Let her experience You Deeply.
  • Everything works together for good to those who love You and are called according to Your purpose.

 

I noticed the clock ticking closer to our 3:00 AM wake-up call. I was getting nervous. I needed sleep. But more than that, my baby girl needed her mom. So we kept praying.

 

  • God, You are Faithful, even when we can’t see. Forever, You hold eternity in Your hands. “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord, “Plans for good, not for evil, to give you a Future and a hope.”
  • You are God. You give Good Gifts. Your Word tells us that a father won’t give his child a snake when he asks for bread. He Gives Good things. You will Give Taylor Your peace.

 

And so on.

When you come to the end of the alphabet—V, W, X, Y and Z—it’s a little more difficult and you have to get creative with your words and phrases. (The word Very can come in handy.)

 

That night, the circumstances that brought my daughter to this emotional state weren’t great—but praying A–Z with her was. We only got two and a half hours of sleep, but we were at peace. My baby girl’s mind was filled with His promises. In Isaiah 26:3 it says, “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You” (NKJV).

 

When I think about being a mom, it’s nights like this that I want to remember forever.