Most Holy God,
Keep the feet of my sons firm on the path of your blood-bought Gospel, forsaking all other ways no matter how worn and well-tread they appear reminding them grace reveals itself in that which is small of gate and narrow of way.
May they always be more and more overwhelmed with gratitude for the Cross so that they in all their days will be strongly tethered to that which not only gives them life but energizes it as well instead of succumbing to the dual albatrosses of law-living: guilt and compulsion.
Let them hearken not to voices which would seek to move them from the grace which flows from Calvary by granting them tender consciences which bruise easily when they forget your goodness in the damning fog of licentiousness or legalism.
Early in life may they taste and see that you are good and that no one in this entire cosmos loves them more than God in Christ. More than their friends. More than their spouses. More than their families. More than their parents. May they never forget this life-changing, destiny-altering, hope-filled truth as long as they draw breath.
Rescue them from their earthly father’s bad choices, sinful responses and marred examples of what a dad should be and give them eyes to see that the profound grace which carries them in this life is the same grace which carried him.
Graciously reorder their memories so that when they reflect on the parents they were given they will say, “Mom and Dad loved us with all they had and yet they loved Jesus more. They loved Jesus more than life itself.”
O Gracious Lord, help my children in spite of me. Carry them into being the men I could never have led them to be. And if there are things in my life which served to highlight the goodness of your name and the greatness of your salvation, preserve this not only in their thoughts but in their lives.
In the Name of the One who has done for me what I could not do for myself, your Son, my Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen.
