There is a lot of attention right now about the movie. War Room. It is showing in many theaters across the country. It’s also getting rave reviews. It’s become a box office success.
If you’ve seen the movie you know that the “war room” is a place where prayer takes place. Prayer goes to battle. The warrior suits up with prayer. Prayers get answered.
This got me to thinking about single parents. What if every single parent developed a war room in their home?
- Can you imagine the lives that could be changed?
- Can you imagine how much the children would be impacted knowing their parent was seriously praying for their needs?
- Can you imagine the closeness single parent families could develop if prayer were front and center in their lives?
- Can you imagine the legacy this single parent would bestow upon the children as they grow into adults?
Down through the years I had several war rooms in my house. For many years when I first became a single parent it was on the floor in my kitchen. I was in that room very early every morning. Prayer lists were made up in my prayer notebook. As my kids requested a particular request it was written down. As my kid’s friends asked for prayer it was recorded. I have years of prayer books during my kids growing up years.
At one point in my life my war room was a closet. I listed prayer requests on pieces of paper and taped them to the inside of the closet door. I dated the requests and when a prayer was answered, I crossed it off but I left the notes posted. They were a constant reminder that God answers prayers.
Recently I was researching the idea of praying circles around one’s children. Actually there is an incredible book about this very subject, Praying Circles around Your Children by Mark Batterson (Zondervan 2012).
In this book Mark writes, “You don’t have to do everything right as a parent, but there is one thing you cannot afford to get wrong. That one thing is prayer. You’ll never be a perfect parent, but you can be a praying parent. Prayer is your highest privilege as a parent.” (Pg 11)
I think Mark has hit it spot-on. Prayer is your highest privilege and calling too. As a single parent parenting alone is one tough job and I’m not too sure anyone can be successful without the power or prayer.
As a single parent I tried to teach my children to go to the Lord on every issue. I remember when my son was going to take his SATs we stopped on the stairway right before he left the house and prayed. Several years later when he took went for his pre-med test to get into medical school prayers were lifted.
I remember when my daughter asked for prayer for a friend at school that was pregnant. I remember praying with my daughter when she left for boot camp. While she was deployed to Afghanistan my prayers were the fervent prayers of a mother praying for her daughter’s safe return home.
Today my kids are both grown and have families of their own. I still pray for them, for their spouses, for their marriages and for my grandchildren.
I still have prayer lists. My children’s ministry friends joke about my inventive “post-it note” prayer list. When a kidmin kind of person needs prayer I write their request on a tiny little post-it note strip and put it up in my office. The notes are color-coded. You might say I have a mini war room for this special group of people.
Tell me what does your war room look like?
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Thanks, Linda for this reminder to pray for our children. Another great resource for parents is “The Power of a Praying Parent”, by Stormie Omartian. To show our appreciation we’ve given this book to our parents. We’ve also given Mark Batterson’s book, Praying Circles Around Your Children. Thanks.
Great idea about giving these books to parents. Thank you.