A Father’s Prayer
Tuesday, May 24th, 2011
I wish for you happiness…
Happiness is a gift from God. I know it’s hard sometimes to imagine, but God really does want you to enjoy life. An old man who had lived a long life and learned a good many difficult lessons the hard way once wrote:
There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from Him who can eat or who can have enjoyment? (Ecclesiastes 2:24-25)
Happiness is not the result of circumstances. It’s not found in gratifying your desires. No relationship, no thing, no thrill will ever really make you happy. Happiness is something only God can give.
I wish for you blessing…
Blessings are the reward of obedience. God wants to bless you. He wants you to experience His blessing, His power. He wants to use you as a channel, a pipeline, a conduit to be a blessing to others. The psalmist once said:
Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on His law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers. (Psalm 1:1-3)
God will bless you in ways you can’t possibly imagine as long as you faithfully obey Him.
I wish for you wisdom…
Wisdom begins by fearing the Lord. A wise father once wrote to his sons:
Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;
teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
For by me your days will be multiplied,
and years will be added to your life. (Proverbs 10:9-11)
The world’s way of thinking is warped, it’s a kind of matrix that on the surface seems so real, but in reality is all a sham. It’s fake. It’s a trap. The world is not your friend. It’s devised by Satan to destroy you. Be wise, my daughter. God knows what we cannot know. God sees what we cannot see. Don’t settle for the lie. Let truth be your guide.
I wish for you success…
Success is the result of a right use of wisdom. God told Joshua:
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. (Joshua 1:8)
Your future is before you. Only God knows what you will make of it. Standing here at the beginning of adulthood, the opportunities seem endless. Where will you go from here? What will you do? What will you become? Wherever you go and whatever you do, one thing I know for sure. You will experience success, “good success” if you remember to do one thing. As James put it, don’t just be a hearer of the Word, be a doer (James 1:22). You’ve been taught God’s Word since you were a little child. But it’s not enough just to understand it. To be successful in this life you’ve got to put it into practice. You’ve gotta do it.
Be real. Be authentic. Be the child of God that you were created to be. That’s my prayer for you, my daughter.